Burnside MSP calls for better treatment for dementia sufferers

BURNSIDE-based Glasgow Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown has called for better treatment for dementia sufferers during a debate in the Scottish Parliament on dementia.

Mr Brown focused on the problems dementia sufferers face in care homes, and the need for people to retain as much of their independence as possible.

Robert Brown has been lobbying the Scottish Government over the past few months to take on board the recommendations from the report – Remember, I’m still me – produced by the Mental Welfare Commission and the Care Commission.

The report highlighted widespread inconsistencies in the quality of care provided in care homes around the country.

Worryingly, it found that some care homes fell seriously short of best practice and that people with dementia were not always getting the best possible care to meet their needs.

The report found that, even although 75 per cent of people with dementia in the homes were taking one or more psychoactive medicines, there was often no regular review of medication, and that care home staff were not trained properly in this area.

Robert Brown said: “It has frequently and famously been said that a society is to be judged by how it treats its old people. Scotland has a long way to go in its treatment of dementia sufferers.

“Dementia affects more and more people. In part, it is a product of improved medical services and better lifestyles that lead to a longer lifespan, which is good in many ways. At the moment, it estimated there are 69,500 sufferers but that figure is set to rise to 127,000 by 2031. Six per cent of people over 65 are affected.

“That is an illustration of the national numbers, but the figures are also stark at local level. In Glasgow, there are an estimated 6676 sufferers and in South Lanarkshire, 3390.

“The numbers pose great challenges, not only for health and social care services but, more particularly and more immediately, for families and carers.

“The importance of support for carers must not be overlooked – they hold not only the whole system but the health of individuals together.

“While I am pleased that the Scottish Government has accepted the report, Remember, I’m still me in its entirety and is to produce a dementia strategy, it is disappointing that it has been deferred until the spring.

“There is a great deal for the strategy to do and a number of big must-dos.

“We must change the way we think and do. Sufferers remain people. They must, as far as possible, continue to make decisions and be responsible for their own lives although, as the condition develops, they cannot always continue to be entirely independent. “