Scotland’s second National Dementia Strategy was launched on Monday at the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Connections Conference.

At the launch, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing Alex Neil said:

“I am delighted to launch our second three year National Dementia Strategy, which will further improve diagnosis rates, transform the quality of post-diagnostic support and take forward a national action plan on improving care for people with dementia in hospitals.

“We’ve already seen huge progress since we made dementia a national priority in 2007. Currently 64% of Scots are getting a diagnosis, significantly better than other parts of the UK. Everyone diagnosed from 1 April this year is entitled to a named support worker to help them and their families understand the illness, manage its symptoms and plan for future care”.

The Strategy works as part of the wider ‘2020 vision for health’, which aims to work to enable all people, including those with dementia, to live well for longer at home or in a homely setting. The period of this strategy, and the wider 2020 vision, will also cover the period of integration of health and social care services.

You can read Scotland’s National Dementia Strategy: 2013 – 2016 here.