Comments on Supporting People Draft Evaluation Strategy

Alzheimer Scotland's response to the Scottish Executive - submitted 30 June 2006

Introduction
Alzheimer Scotland is the leading specialist dementia charity in Scotland and works to improve the lives of everyone affected by dementia. Our members include carers, relatives, people with dementia, professionals, groups and organisations. We run services in over sixty sites, and provide the freephone 24 hour Dementia Helpline, publications and an extensive website. We aim to be the national and local voice of and for people with dementia and their carers in Scotland and work to improve public policies for their benefit.

There are currently 64,000 people with dementia in Scotland, almost 2000 of whom are under the age of 65. The number of people with dementia is predicted to rise in line with the ageing population.

Alzheimer Scotland welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft evaluation and communications strategies. Our comments relate primarily to dementia, as this is our area of expertise.

Comments on draft evaluation strategy
The 3 questions set out on page 10 of the draft evaluation strategy will now be addressed.

Question 1, bullet point 1
We do not have any suggestions for other targets. The targets of relevance to people with dementia are 1, 2, 3, 9 & 10. The Supporting People elements will be extremely difficult to measure in target 1. We are unsure whether emergency hospital admissions can be reduced (target 2). Finally, target 3 seems too broad.

Question 1, bullet point 2
Annual returns from registered social landlords could be a useful source of evidence to include in the evaluation.

Question 2
In principle, moving to outcome based measures is laudable, however it is sometimes difficult to identify what makes for a successful outcome given the number of variables in operation.

Question 3
We are not aware of any other research being carried out that may provide helpful information on the Supporting People programme.

Comments on draft communications strategy
The 3 questions set out on page 5 of the draft communications strategy will now be addressed.

Question 1
The main stakeholders have been identified. However, carers should be included because their views may differ from that of the service users. In addition, the voluntary sector should be included, as not all will be covered by the service provider category.

Question 2
We think that all possible methods of communication have been included. However, the following points must be taken into account when communicating with people with dementia:

• any written material must be easy to understand, incorporate clear summaries and be provided in advance of any meeting
• advocates may be required to represent people with dementia, for example at consultation events
• any events people with dementia attend must be physically accessible, as many people with dementia have physical disabilities due to the dementia and/or their age
• accessibility for people with dementia also requires the provision of clear signage at the venue
• resources may be required to ensure that a participant with dementia can, where necessary, be assisted to attend and to take part by a support worker
• any events or meetings should be designed with frequent breaks to ensure that people with dementia do not become overloaded
• accessible transport to and from such events should be provided where required.

Opportunities for consultation should be advertised in appropriate places, such as GP surgeries and day care centres and through Alzheimer Scotland networks. The Supporting People newsletter should also be made available in appropriate places.
It is also important to involve carers of people with dementia in their own right. The provision of respite may be necessary when a carer wants to attend an event alone.
Alzheimer Scotland can provide assistance in contacting groups of people with dementia, such as the Scottish Dementia Working Group http://www.alzscot.org/pages/sdwg.htm

Question 3
We have no further comments to make on the draft communications strategy, although we welcome the way that the Scottish Executive is planning and consulting on this strategy.

Summary
In summary, Alzheimer Scotland is in agreement with the targets set in the evaluation strategy and, with greater awareness of the communication needs of service users, believes that the communications strategy will effectively gather the views of stakeholders on the Supporting People programme.
We hope this response is helpful and are happy to provide clarification on any of the points we have made.