Presentations and talks given at conferences

Dementia Awareness Week Conference 2012 - Creativity and dementia – policy and practice
Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Awareness Week conference provided a unique opportunity to hear about progress on the implementation of Scotland's National Dementia Strategy. We were delighted to have Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing give the keynote address and launch the second year review of the Strategy. The National Dementia Strategy puts outcomes for people with dementia centre stage. The conference made a direct link between the Scottish Government’s Dementia Strategy and its 'Year of Creative Scotland' which aims to involve everyone in the community.

National Dementia Learning Event 2011
Provided a forum for all of those charged with delivering the Dementia Strategy including the Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland and Promoting Excellence to share key learning from the work of the dementia demonstrator sites and examples of good practice and learning from other initiatives working to improve the quality of care for people with dementia.

Dementia Awareness Week Conference 2011 - Creating Better Dementia Care
Attended by over 300 delegates this timely and successful event marked the first anniversary of Scotland's National Dementia Strategy. Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister, delivered her first major address since the May election and launched the first year report on the National Dementia Strategy, the Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland, and Promoting Excellence: A framework for all health and social services staff working with people with dementia, their families and carers.

Dementia Awareness Week Conference - Scotland's Dementia Strategy – Making it Work for People, June 2010
Focusing on the Scottish Government's National Dementia Strategy, this event gave an opportunity to hear about the recommendations in detail and what they mean for people with dementia, their carers, local communities and professionals.

Alzheimer Scotland's first two day conference proved to be a great success. Attended by around 400 delegates, it addressed best practice in dementia services and how to put people with dementia and their carers in control, so that those service fit better with their lives.

Participants were encouraged to look at dementia care in new ways, from early diagnosis and post-diagnostic support through to improving end of life care.

The conference also saw the official launch of the report on Alzheimer Scotland's Beyond Barrier's project.

The 2nd Annual Scottish Conference for Younger Adults with Dementia was held in Glasgow in October 2008. Contributors included speakers from the Universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews, NHS Fife, NHS Lothian, NHS Tayside and Alzheimer Scotland.

Use and abuse: sedatives for people with dementia in care homes
There has been much controversy about the use of tranquillising medication for people with dementia in care homes. Professor Ballard spoke about his research on the subject, and about best practice for the treatment of people with dementia living in care homes.

Achieving the ‘gold standard’ for dementia care services should be more than an aspiration – people with dementia and their carers in Scotland deserve nothing less. The Scottish Government’s priorities for dementia are warmly welcomed but how will these translate to services on the ground? The 2008 Dementia Awareness Week conference addressed these issues.

Speakers provided an overview of the Government’s priorities for dementia and the improvements in services Scotland should expect to see over the next 3-5 years. They reviewed Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Manifesto priorities and what more needs to be done before we reach the 'gold standard' of dementia care.

Dementia Awareness Week Conference 2007
At the conference expert speakers presented innovative practice from Scotland and internationally, and challenged the new Scottish Parliament to put dementia issues high on its agenda. Throughout, people with dementia and carers put forward their perspectives and priorities.

Rarer Dementias Study Day 2007
More than 100 people attended the study day to hear presentations on diagnosis, clinical aspects, the latest research, including genetics and scanning, and legal information. Delegates also heard a carer's perspective about living with and supporting someone with a rarer form of dementia.

Dementia in Younger Adults: Science, Services & Experiences 2007

Dementia Active: changing how we see dementia
Presentations from the 2006 Dementia Awareness Week ground-breaking conference on reducing the risk of dementia through healthier lifestyles and a positive and health-promoting approach to living with dementia.