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).
Improving the lives of people with dementia is at the heart of a new 10 year strategy launched by @scotgovhealth and @CoSLA
— Scot Gov Health (@scotgovhealth) May 31, 2023
Read more here: https://t.co/fKe2ZEOccS
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.”
