5,821 of the 43,112 people living in Dundalk in April 2022 were aged 65 or over (13.5%). The town is the county town of Louth, close to the border with Northern Ireland. Between 2016 and 2022 the 65+ population of County Louth grew from 16,077 to 19,898, a rise of 23.8%. 4,844 over-65s in County Louth live on their own, 25.7% of those in private households and in line with the national 25.9%. In the town itself, 9,644 people (22.4%) reported a disability and 2,332 (5.4%) gave regular unpaid care to someone.
The HSE structure here is HSE Dublin and North East and the Louth Meath Integrated Health Area. The HSE side of home support runs through the HSE Home Support Office in Louth (Oriel Suite, St Brigids Complex, Kells Road, Ardee A92 DRN0, 041 685 9200). For a doctor after hours, callers go through NEDOC. We found 11 home care provider offices listed in County Louth, from 10 names. Offices in the town on the list belong to Bluebird Care, Connected Health and MyHomecare.ie, with Dovida and Comfort Keepers also on the list for the county. A rural rota can have one carer covering a long loop of roads. When that carer is late, clients ring, and Hettie can take those calls so the carer can keep driving.
For hospital discharges the closest acute sites on the HSE list are Louth County Hospital Dundalk and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda. For palliative care, see North Louth Hospice and Louth Community Specialist Palliative Care Team. Where the next hospital is a long drive, knowing early that a client has had a fall or a bad night matters, and Post-Discharge calls give an agency that early view. The town is the hub for a wide hinterland, and Drogheda, Laytown-Bettystown and Navan are the nearest other towns with pages here.