Charter of Rights for People with Dementia and their Carers

Today at 12.30pm, the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group on Alzheimer's disease will launch the Charter of Rights for People with Dementia and their Carers in Scotland. This will take place in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament.

The Charter is needed for a number of important reasons, including:

• the nature of the illness means that people with dementia have great difficulty in protecting their own rights;
• there is still much stigma and discrimination against people with the illness;
• people with dementia don't have equal access to high quality dementia care services;
• support for those who care for people with dementia is often overlooked, so that their health suffers with the stress of caring.

We hope that the Charter will empower people with dementia, those who care for them and the professionals who work to help them. You can read the Charter and register your support at www.dementiarights.org.