Home carer

Central and local government team up to launch new 10-year dementia strategy in Scotland

Dementia patients in Scotland are set to benefit from a new 10-year strategy, the Scottish Government has announced.

The new plan, which has been launched during dementia awareness week in Scotland, sets out the vision for a decade’s worth of policy, singling out several priorities that the government has earmarked as things that would improve the quality of life for those affected by the disease.

This includes:

  • Ensuring people have pre and post diagnosis support;
  • Taking steps to allow more people to live well in their communities;
  • Leveraging the experience and expertise of those affected by the disease to design and deliver their own support;
  • Enabling access to skilled and trauma-informed professionals, when necessary.

The Scottish Government is also planning on rolling out two-year delivery plans that will help address the stigma around dementia – the first of these is expected by the end of the year.

The strategy is the result of eight months of engagement with stakeholders across the entirety of Scotland and has been co-produced with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).

Scottish minister for social care, mental wellbeing and sport, Maree Todd, commented: “Dementia is a brain health condition which impacts at least 90,000 people across Scotland, as well as their families and their communities. This strategy sets out what we want to achieve and the difference we want to make to people’s lives.”

Todd also co-authors the plan’s foreword where she explains the name of the strategy – Everyone’s Story.

“It’s called ‘Everyone’s Story’ because it belongs to all of us. How we understand, support and see dementia impacts everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, additional disability or age. Across all settings, at all stages we must embed and enable empowerment, inclusivity and citizenship,” she writes.

COSLA’s spokesperson for health and social care, Councillor Paul Kelly also contributed and separately added: “We welcome this strategy as it rightly challenges us to do more and go even further, to continue to improve the care and support for people living with dementia and their care partners.

“Delivering it will require us all to continue to work collaboratively in a positive and proactive manner, while respecting each other’s different experiences of dementia.”

Jan/Feb

NHE January/February 2024

Boosting NHS productivity demands a healthy dose of realism

Dive into our latest edition for January/February!

Videos...

View all videos
Online Conference

Presenting

2024 Online Conferences

In partnership with our community of health sector leaders responsible for delivering the UK's health strategy across the NHS and the wider health sector, we’ve devised a collaborative calendar of conferences and events for industry leaders to listen, learn and collaborate through engaging and immersive conversation. 

All our conferences are CPD accredited, which means you can gain points to advance your career by attending our online conferences. Also, the contents are available on demand so you can re-watch at your convenience.

National Health Executive Podcast

Ep 41. The truth about drones in the NHS

In episode 41 of the National Health Executive podcast, we were joined by Dr Angela Smith, research fellow at Bournemouth University, and Andy Oakey, research fellow at the University of Southampton, to discuss the viability of drones within the NHS transport system.

More articles...

View all