2023-05-08 22:43:20
The pandemic has exacerbated the mental health of seniors, but many of them can count on the help offered by health professionals.
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Angelo Cipullo, who suffers from bipolar disorder, is sometimes visited by a nurse and a geriatric psychiatrist from the Institut universitaire en santé maladie de Montréal.
“Bipolar disorder is an illness that can cause either episodes of depression or […] mania or hypomania”, explains a geriatric psychiatrist to our journalist.
Home visits save Angelo and other seniors from having to go to a hospital.
“Rather than visiting people in the hospital, we visit them at home. What we want is to preserve their autonomy […] especially to see how they are mentally,” explains Isabelle Gagnon, nurse at the Institute.
“Sometimes, we require hospitalization, but shortening it means that patients decondition themselves less,” says Dr. Angela Geloso, geriatric psychiatrist.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, psychological problems and mental disorders have increased among people aged 55 and over.
Among the recurrent anxiety disorders in the elderly, a specialist indicates that anxiety and depression
The CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal team is currently monitoring 90 elderly people at home.
In total, 1,000 people aged 70 and over have benefited from the help of this CIUSSS.
A patient can count on the follow-up of a team of 15 people for a period of approximately six months, in addition to having access to telephone support 24 hours a day.
The program could grow, notes Dr. Geloso.
“Particularly in the east of Montreal, we are already at 20% of the population who are 65 years old and over.”
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