The Social Justice department will roll out ‘Ormathoni,’ a project for the elderly suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease that affect memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities.
Ormathoni will be implemented by the Kerala Social Security Mission with the support of other departments to realise the goal of a dementia-friendly Kerala. Minister for Social Justice R. Bindu will perform the State-level inauguration of Ormathoni at Government College for Women, Vazhuthacaud, on February 15.
Group of experts
Ahead of the formal inauguration, training will be provided on dementia to doctors and staff who are part of the Vayomithram project from Friday. The training will be provided by creating a State-level resource group under the Health department, Directorate of Medical Education, and Kerala University of Health Sciences. The resource group will include experts on the subject. The training for ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers in urban local bodies will begin after the inauguration, Dr. Bindu said at a press meet here on Wednesday.
Study material on caring for people with dementia scientifically will be brought out for those diagnosed with dementia, their caregivers, and social workers in this field. Promotion material that will help create awareness of dementia and training will also be prepared.
Dr. Bindu emphasised that besides seeing dementia as a health problem, it would also be viewed from the lens of a social problem. Consequently, all those people in the State who have dementia would be identified and suitable services provided to them through Ormathoni.
₹92 lakh sanctioned
Administrative sanction of ₹92 lakh had been received for Ormathoni activities this financial year, she said. Screening centred round the 91 Vayomithram units in the State, memory clinics in association with the Health department, and medicines for those who need them will be started this year. The project will become functional across the State by April. Basic infrastructure facilities will be provided to the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat and Ollukkara block panchayat in Thrissur that have expressed interest in starting day care centres for those with dementia.
Screening
Dr. Bindu said the elderly reaching Vayomithram projects in Thiruvananthapuram district will be screened for dementia on the Ormathoni launch day. She said the progress from mild to severe dementia could be checked through proper interventions the moment symptoms appeared. This along with making family members aware of proper care and training them in how to provide it were the aims of dementia-friendly Kerala project.
