Alzheimer Scotland’s vision includes access to the health care that people with dementia need, when they need it, delivered in a way which understands their dementia and its impact on their wider health care needs.
This report, produced by Alzheimer Scotland and commissioned by Scottish Government, puts forward key proposals as to how we can improve the experience and quality of support for those individuals requiring specialist dementia care.
Alzheimer Scotland produced the Transforming Specialist Dementia Hospital Care report. This report, commissioned by the Scottish Government, is a detailed review of the nature and challenges of specialist dementia care across Scotland.
The report introduces a vision of what a good specialist dementia unit should be, based on the evidence and work of many committed practitioners who helped us develop the report and the views of people with dementia and carers. It explores the nature of the teams, the quality of care, the size of specialist dementia units and crucially highlights that, in many areas, current units are not it for purpose and must be rebuilt.
The report makes the case that these individuals should be supported and funded to make a safe transition to a more suitable form of care provision. In areas where a more suitable form of care provision does not exist, the local Integrated Joint Board should consider commissioning such a service.
The report’s recommendations, which have been fully accepted by the Scottish Government, state that this transition must not, in any way, result in the individual with dementia, their partner or family having to pay for any aspect of care under the new arrangements. NHS Boards and Integrated Joint Boards must work closely alongside local people with dementia, carers, partners and family members to get this right.
This is a long-term transformation; each step must be carefully planned and Alzheimer Scotland will work with partners at national and local level to ensure any transitions resulting from the Transforming Specialist Dementia Hospital Care report are done with the right intent, fully following the report’s recommendations.