ALONE ECC Report 2024
The Enhanced Community Care (ECC) programme promotes ageing and care in place, enabling older people to benefit from an integrated system of care and practical support in their community while remaining at home. By focusing on community care, it aims to relieve pressure on hospitals by reducing admissions and waiting lists.
This Enhanced Community Care (ECC) report provides a comprehensive overview of the support provided by ALONE throughout Ireland in 2024, with a particular emphasis on its collaborative initiatives with the HSE to enhance person-centred community health services and to promote the health and wellbeing of older adults. It marks the ninth report in the series, offering a national overview of the services provided in 2024, with comparisons to 2023.
Key highlights from 2024 are listed below:
- 43,982 older people supported across all ALONE services.
- 15,516 newly supported, representing a 28% increase from 2023
- Ongoing support provided to 10,183 individuals.
- 109,040 volunteer visits and 213,506 Telephone support and Befriending calls
- 1,920 Christmas dinners and 7,471 Christmas check-in calls
Key issues reported by older people include:
- 52% experienced loneliness
- 51% had physical health concerns, a 26% increase from 2023
- 34% experienced mobility challenges, with an increase in mobility fixture difficulties
- 25% had mental health issues, particularly Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- 30% faced financial difficulties, increasing from 27% to 32% throughout the year
- 32% had housing issues, with a majority requiring housing adaptations
- 28% experienced personal care concerns, with an increase in nutrition concerns
- Assistive technology was involved in 15% of interventions
The reports highlights several critical areas that require focused attention to better meet the needs of older adults, such as strengthening physical health and mobility supports, improving housing adaptations and home safety, enhancing financial supports and stability, addressing loneliness and promoting social connection, leveraging assistive technology to enhance independent living, expanding the volunteer network and monitoring regional needs. It underscores both the achievements of ALONE’s services in 2024 and the ongoing challenges faced by older adults in Ireland, providing valuable insights for future service development and policy recommendations.
