Dementia Manifesto 2007

Let's make dementia a priority

Alzheimer Scotland has launched the Dementia Manifesto for the 2007 Scottish Parliament. ‘Let’s make dementia a priority’ urges the new Scottish Parliament to pledge an additional £15million per year to enable better dementia care for those people living with dementia today and to enable Scotland to begin to plan for the increased number of people who will have dementia in the future.

In 2007 there are 58,000 people in Scotland with dementia. During the life of the next Scottish Parliament, the number of people with dementia will grow by almost 4,500, and in less than 25 years time there will be 102,000 people with dementia in Scotland. The Dementia Manifesto sets out seven priority areas for the next Scottish Parliament, each with their own costed targets:

Making dementia a national priority - £3m

• Dementia declared a national priority
• Increased funding for services
• More and better respite and short breaks
• All local authorities and health boards to work to the same set of dementia care standards
• Entitlement to a minimum level of respite, as recommended by the Care 21 report

Early diagnosis and support - £1m

• Full post-diagnostic support service in every area

Better dementia training - £3m

• Every service used by people with dementia to have at least one member of staff appropriately trained in dementia care – for example, every GP practice should have at least one doctor or nurse with recognised dementia training

Make dementia drug treatments available on the NHS - £2.75m

• Drug treatments available on the NHS for every patient with mild, moderate or severe dementia, where clinically appropriate

Free personal care - £4m

• Ring fenced funding for free personal care
• Free personal and nursing care allowances uprated to keep pace with the increases in care home fees
• Free personal care extended to people with dementia under 65

Raise public awareness - £0.25m

• Funding for high-profile campaigns to increase public understanding of dementia and reduce stigma, and to help people reduce their risk of dementia

Research funding - £1m

• Funding for the dementia research priorities published by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network