Only around one in eight nursing homes in Ireland have specialist care units designed to look after the complex needs of people with dementia, a new study has revealed.

Only 12% of 602 public and private nursing homes surveyed have these units, according to the study by Prof Susan Cahill of TCD.

The research has shown that these special units are unevenly distributed throughout Ireland, with some areas over-supplied and others under-supplied.

It was found that 1,043 people with dementia are residing in the 54 special units in nursing homes.

The study also shows that the average number of people living in each unit was 19, a figure well in excess of best practice recommendations.

The study said a surprising finding, given the higher payments to and supposedly higher dependency levels of patients in public long-stay care, was the fact that two-thirds of HSE homes stipulated that residents be independently mobile.

A larger proportion of private special units, compared to public ones, reported that all nursing staff and healthcare attendants had undergone dementia-specific training.

The study found that despite rising rates of dementia in Ireland, there is no prospect of significant expansion of dementia-specific facilities in Irish nursing homes in the foreseeable future.

The research was presented at a symposium on dementia and caregiving held at TCD yesterday.

The conference was organised by the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre at St James's Hospital and TCD.