Chief Executive update

Dear Supporters 

I hope this finds you well. We are delighted with the response to the recent relaunch of our Time for You carers fund. We have received over 300 applications for these grants in only two weeks – demonstrating the need for carers to have some form of respite, and time for themselves, whatever that looks like for them. Time For You is fully funded by Alzheimer Scotland through a significant investment of fundraised income. You can apply for the Time for You fund here.  

We have a few dates to share with you this month. Brain Awareness Week will take place on 13-19 March, and the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium (SDRC) Annual Conference is on 25 & 26 April in Glasgow. Please also note our annual Dementia Awareness Week campaign on 29 May – 4 June and our Annual Conference on 15 September. Details of all our events, conferences and campaigns will be available on our website.   

A debate is taking place in the Scottish Parliament this week ahead of the publication of the new dementia strategy. Alzheimer Scotland engaged with hundreds of people with lived experience as part of the Scottish Government’s consultation process, and indeed to shape our organisation’s response. If you missed this in December, here is a link to our report, which we have also shared with those MSPs taking part in Wednesday’s debate, which you can watch here. 

As an ongoing update, we continue to make the case for Fair Dementia Care to be delivered and have recently written to Minister Kevin Stewart reiterating our opinion (informed by our legal team) that the current Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care guidance is flawed. We await a response to this recent letter, and will keep our supporters informed as we go forward. 

Please remember our 24 hour Freephone Dementia Helpline is here 7 days a week on 0808 808 3000. 

Best wishes 

Henry Simmons 
Chief Executive  

Dear Supporters 

I hope this update finds you and your loved ones safe and well. Between the cost of living crisis and demands on health and social care services, we know this winter has been – and still is - very challenging for the people we support. Building on our Time For You initiative, Alzheimer Scotland created a Winter Essentials fund in November to provide an additional helping hand of support during these difficult months. Since then, we have issued some 1,099 grants – a third of which have gone to people with dementia and the remainder to family carers across Scotland. These small grants have been used to purchase warm clothing, cover fuel and travel costs, or as a contribution to energy bills. This level of demand for the fund is indicative of a time when people’s needs are so significant. The Winter Essentials fund will remain open for the forthcoming weeks, you can find out more here.  

The 2022 Time For You fund came at a crucial time when the need for respite and self-care was becoming increasingly critical for many in a caring role. A Time For You panel, made up of people with lived experience and Alzheimer Scotland staff, was formed to assess applications. We saw some wonderful, creative applications, and the fund was used for short breaks, gardening and home improvements, physical health and wellbeing, home based hobbies, technology and respite cover.  We were also able to connect people to support such as their local Dementia Advisor and signpost them to other services including our 24 hour Freephone Dementia Helpline. After awarding 1192 grants, the fund closed in July 2022. Time For You was originally funded by the Scottish Government. We are delighted to relaunch it this year, which will be fully funded by Alzheimer Scotland through a significant investment of fundraised income. Time For You will reopen on 14 February, and the new panel is looking forward to welcoming applications.  Full details will be made available on our website.  

This year will see the launch of a new Brain Health & Dementia Resource Centre in Perth. We are delighted to offer our support in another area in Scotland, making Perth the home of our 25th Centre. We’re here to make sure nobody faces dementia alone, and each of our Centres offer a range of support services and therapeutic activities – you can find out more about your local area here, or alternatively call our Helpline for more information on the ways we can support you.  

A huge thank you to all our supporters who took part in our 90k challenge in January – it has been wonderful to see the variety of activities and efforts you have made in order to complete the challenge and raise funds for Alzheimer Scotland. It is thanks to all our supporters, past and present, that we are able to make investments into initiatives and services such as Time for You, our Centres and our 24 hour Freephone Dementia Helpline, so I’d like to close by saying thank you for all you do to help us make sure nobody faces dementia alone. 

Best wishes 

Henry Simmons
Chief Executive 

Dear Supporters 

I hope this update finds you and your loved ones safe and well. We know how difficult the winter months are for the people we support, particularly with the current cost of living crisis and rising energy costs. We want to reassure you that we remain here for people living with dementia and their family carers across Scotland. Alzheimer Scotland has launched a Winter Essentials Fund, which offers grants of £50 to people with dementia and unpaid carers. Some examples of how the grant can be used include buying warm clothing, electric blankets, hot water bottles, or helping meet travel costs to attend a local group. You can find out more here.  

There was a promising announcement this week regarding a successful trial of the drug "lecanemab" for early Alzheimer's disease. This is the first new drug to show a slowing of decline in disease progression in the brain and in cognitive function. In our view it is a very meaningful breakthrough and heralds a new era for Alzheimer’s treatments. You can read more here.  

We published our Annual Review this month, a wonderful reflection on the support and services we have provided across Scotland in the last 12 months and I would like to thank all colleagues and volunteers for their dedication and commitment to people with dementia and their families and carers. The report was launched at our Annual General Meeting, where we were delighted to welcome members to our office in Glasgow and so grateful for technology enabling us to have some many attendees online too. We also officially opened our new Brain Health & Dementia Resource Centre in Glasgow last month, offering support for people with dementia, their families and carers, as well as providing a drop in facility for anyone interested in finding out more about brain health and risk reduction. 

Our Every Voice Community Choir have been inundated with praise for their recording of Lean on Me, which is featured in our winter fundraising campaign, Lean on Me. You can watch them perform here, and thank you to everyone who has so kindly donated to the campaign so far. We would not be able to provide the level of support that we do without the generosity of our supporters – thank you.  

Please remember our 24 hour Freephone Dementia Helpline (0808 808 3000) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

Best wishes 

Henry Simmons 
Chief Executive 

Dear Supporters

I hope this finds you and your families safe and well. As we move into the winter months, our concerns are with the most vulnerable people in our dementia community. Through calls to our helpline, as well as through our frontline support and services, we are continually hearing of increased levels of distress from people with dementia and carers about being unable to access primary and social care due to limited resources in the system. We are also hearing from people who are having to choose between heating their homes or putting a nutritious meal on the table. Clearly this is unacceptable, and we would like to try and do as much as we can to support people during this time. We will be making sure all of our 24 Dementia Resources Centres will be providing extra groups and sessions where possible, providing people with a warm space and company. We will also be launching an extension of our Time for You fund in the form of a small winter essentials grant. This will provide those most in need with a small grant of £50 to help purchase some additional essentials to help them through this winter. We will be launching this fund in the forthcoming weeks. 

Alzheimer Scotland welcomes the launch of the Scottish Government’s National Conversation. As Scotland’s leading dementia charity, the voice of lived experience is central to every aspect of our work. Our frontline staff across Scotland are supporting meaningful debate and discussion with people with dementia and carers to feed into the next National Dementia Strategy, however the voices of the many individuals with lived experience who helped shape the past three consecutive National Dementia Strategies cannot be forgotten, and we welcome a review of commitments which remain outstanding as part of this important National Conversation. 

We are delighted to launch My Amazing Brain through our Brain Health Scotland team, which is a range of free brain health teaching resources aimed at 8-12 year olds. This is the first programme of its kind in the UK and the key message is that it’s never too early for people to start thinking about keeping their brains healthy. We know that potentially up to 30% of dementias are preventable. By protecting our brain health today, we may be preventing dementia in the future.

Our Winter Fundraising Campaign will launch in November. It is inspired by – and stars – our Every Voice Choir singing their song of choice, Lean On Me. The Choir is a fantastic example of everything special about our community services – all of which are delivered through the support of fundraised income. We hope you enjoy the films our team have produced for the campaign, and if you are in a position to support Alzheimer Scotland, thank you. 

For those members attending our Annual General Meeting in November, I look forward to welcoming you to our newly refurbished Brain Health & Dementia Resource Centre in Glasgow.  

Take care, and please remember our 24 hour Freephone Dementia Helpline is available on 0808 808 3000. 

Best wishes

Henry Simmons 
Chief Executive 

Dear Supporters

I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and well. As we approach September – World Alzheimer’s Month – we welcome the UK Government’s announcement in recent weeks on the launch of an increase in research funding for dementia, in honour of the late Dame Barbara Windsor. This will undoubtedly have a significant impact on dementia research in Scotland. It is the aim of ‘Bab’s Army’ to get as many people to take part in research as possible - research is hope, and by taking part, people can do something tangible to help understand and increase the likelihood of finding a cure. Alzheimer Scotland is a key partner in the delivery and development of Join Dementia Research – a nationwide online and telephone service that makes it easier for people to register their interest in volunteering for dementia research studies.

Alzheimer Scotland’s key aims are underpinned by research: Prevent, Care, Cure. This is the title theme for our Annual Conference on Monday 5 September, where we will explore these themes and hear from expert panellists from across the dementia community, with opportunities for networking, breakout sessions, and therapeutic activities.  We are delighted to welcome attendees to our first in person event since 2019, and very much looking forward to connecting with members, colleagues and friends on the day. 

We understand new guidance from the Scottish Government is imminent regarding the use of face masks in residential care. There is little doubt there can be a detrimental impact on the quality of person-centred care for people living with dementia when the non verbal interactions with staff are incredibly limited due to mask wearing. Due to growing concerns from campaigning groups and individuals over the use of face masks, Alzheimer Scotland hosted a round table discussion with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives from the Scottish Government, and feedback and reflections from the discussion have been shared with the Minister ahead of the new guidance. Meantime, our Action on Rights team are here to offer support to anyone with a friend or family living in a care home in Scotland. 

Hopefully you saw some of the recent news coverage on the truly inspirational Nick Gardner, who completed his challenge to climb 282 Scottish Munros in August. The scenes from the summit were a testament to Nick’s drive and determination to raise funds for two charities, with staff from both Alzheimer Scotland and the Royal Osteoporosis Society there to celebrate his incredible accomplishment. You can read more about Nick's amazing achievement and make a donation here. 

Best wishes

Henry Simmons
Chief Executive