Latest findings show rejection of institutional care for older people with disability

This paper outlines key trends in specialised health service use and the needs of those aged 50 years and over who are registered on the National Intellectual Disability Database (NIDD). The data for the paper was obtained from the NIDD datasets 2003–2007. The paper includes data on demographics, service use and future need. Census data was used to compare life expectancy and morbidity in older age groups in the general population with those of people aged 50 years and over registered on the NIDD.

The main findings report the progressive movement away from placing older adults with intellectual disability in large institutional settings to nursing homes. This is evident from the decline in the numbers of full-time residents in psychiatric hospitals, which fell by 44% from 283 in 2003 to 197 in 2007.The needs of those aged 50 years and over will have to be prioritised as they are surviving for longer
and have a broader range of service requirements.

Other findings include:

• Places in community group homes need to be available to assist those in this age group to live as
independently as possible, and inappropriate residential placements need to be avoided.
• Services need to be targeted at the most vulnerable sub-groups within this elderly population, i.e.
those who have a more severe level of intellectual disability, those who are in the older age categories
and those who have a physical/sensory disability in addition to their intellectual disability.
• The growth in the provision of multidisciplinary support services should be continued to ensure that
the medical, psychiatric and nursing needs of this age group are catered for.