Dementia-a major public health problem: the role of in-patient psychiatric facilities

This paper reviews data on admissions to Irish psychiatric units and hospitals for those suffering from organic mental disorders, in particular dementia, over the course of the last half century. Admission and census data from the National Psychiatric In-patient Reporting System (NPIRS) from 1963 to 2016 are examined and discussed in light of Ireland’s ageing population. The NPIRS database was established in the 1960s to record admission and discharge activity in Irish psychiatric units and hospitals. Admission data from the database are presented in 5-yearly intervals from 1965 to 2015, while census data are presented for 1963 and 2016.