A new activity centre was inaugurated yesterday by Health Minister Louis Deguara and parliamentary secretary Helen D’Amato, with the aim of allowing residents some recreational time away from the wards.

The Paul Cuschieri Centre will allow residents to remain active by taking part in craft, music and games. In addition, the centre will serve as a respite centre for families whose elderly residents suffer from dementia.

Mrs D’Amato said that this centre is different from others because it is geared towards accommodating people with dementia. She said that the incidence of this condition is increasing in Malta and that there were about 4,000 sufferers at present. “The number is expected to double in 20 years’ time. Sufferers of dementia need more mental and social stimulation to prevent their condition from deteriorating at an accelerated rate,” she said.

For families to avail themselves of the respite facility, they merely need to produce a medical certificate and fill out the forms which are available there.

This centre will help with the implementation of multi-disciplinary and holistic medical care at SVP and will also help to create synergy between institutional care and community care so the concept of active ageing can continue to be implemented.

Health Minister Louis Deguara said that now that the bulk of the Mater Dei work had been completed, the government was going to turn its attention to community care – including the concept of prevention before cure.

Dr Deguara said that it was always the government’s intention to allow senior citizens to continue to live at home and this cannot be achieved holistically without community care. He said that one way to counter dementia was to remain active and this centre should serve this purpose. “The challenges grow as medical care allows us to age more. The government is now trying to help the elderly enjoy these extra years in a health and dignified manner,” he said.