Alzheimer Scotland Welcomes Findings Of National Audit Office Study

Alzheimer Scotland welcomes the findings of the National Audit Office (NAO) study, Improving Services and Support for People with Dementia, which accused the Department of Health of failing to make dementia a priority in England and Wales.

The report says that the crisis in dementia care presents a “significant and urgent challenge” but that not enough is being done about it. The NAO surveyed Community Mental Health Teams and GPs, finding widespread variation in services provided and low priority given to service improvement.

Although the NAO report covers England and Wales, Alzheimer Scotland’s recent report, The Dementia Epidemic: Where Scotland is Now and the Challenge Ahead highlighted a similar picture for Scotland: large and rapidly-growing numbers of people with dementia and services and patchy and often inadequate services which already fail to meet the needs of the existing number of people with dementia.

Jim Jackson, Chief Executive at Alzheimer Scotland, said, “Scotland is in a position of potential leadership, and Alzheimer Scotland welcomes Nicola Sturgeon’s statement last week that the Scottish Government intends to make dementia a priority. She rightly said that there is a consensus on the need for this.

“What we need next is a clear plan for how to put this into action, and we look forward to working with the Scotish Executive, NHS Boards and Local Authorities to create a dementia strategy for Scotland. We need to take action now to minimise the numbers of people developing dementia and invest in anticipatory care, support for self management and research, with a strategy that ensures that resources are increased in line with the growth in numbers.”

There are between 58,000 and 65,000 people with dementia in Scotland in 2007, 1,350 to 1,650 of whom are under 65. By 2031 there will be approximately 102,000 to 114,000 people with dementia. The economic impact in 2007 is estimated to be between £1.5 and £1.7 billion, rising to £2.6 – £2.9 billion (at today’s prices) in 2031.

Further information can be found at The Dementia Epidemic – Where Scotland is Now and the Challenge Ahead.