The Scottish Parliamentary election campaign is now in full swing with parties and candidates setting out to voters what they plan to deliver, if elected. There has been some coverage in The Herald in the last few days where we have responded to announcements from some of Scotland’s main political parties regarding Alzheimer Scotland’s campaign pledge to deliver Fair Dementia Care for people with advanced dementia.
Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservatives have fully endorsed our campaign aims. Meanwhile, The SNP has confirmed its commitment to deliver on the recommendations of the recently published Independent Review of Adult Social Care, which has recommendations to abolish all non-residential social care charges and increase free personal and nursing care payments to those in care homes to a level which will be almost double the current levels.
All of this means that we are making progress in gaining the political support needed to work towards Fair Dementia Care. However, people living with advanced dementia need action now. They don’t have time to wait for months or years for equality of access to the health and nursing care they need in advanced illness and that an end to the unfair charges they face for health care which should be free.
We need to continue to build on this progress to ensure that those we elect to the Scottish Parliament fully understand the inequities that people with advanced dementia face, and that they commit to ending these as early as possible in the new parliament.
That is why we need your support to continue the Fair Dementia Care Campaign and to ask your candidates to sign our Fair Dementia Care pledge. If we can achieve political support from those we elect on 6 May 2021 , we can build on that political support to finally deliver Fair Dementia Care and end the inequities for people living with advanced dementia today, and those who will be living with dementia in the future.