National conversation to inform a new dementia strategy: discussion paper

A National Conversation to inform a New Dementia Strategy: Discussion Paper

Background

What is this?

This is a discussion paper developed by the Scottish Government to help you respond to our National Conversation on the future of dementia policy in Scotland.

Who is it for?

Everyone with an interest in dementia and understanding more about dementia, people living with dementia, and those providing care and support.

What is it for?

It explains why we are having a National Conversation on this issue, provides you with questions to answer and details on how to respond.

Why respond?

We need as many voices as possible to help inform a new Strategy for Dementia in Scotland. This Strategy will set out a 'new story', and broaden the discussion on what we all need to do together to ensure people living with dementia and their families/carers can be supported to live well, in a way that suits them.

Our National Conversation

What is it?

We want to have a national conversation on a new Dementia Strategy for Scotland. We want this to be as open as possible, to meaningfully capture the experiences of people living with or caring for someone with dementia and to enable us to develop a new Strategy that covers all aspects of life for someone with dementia.

What have we done before?

Our previous Dementia Strategy focused on the quality of care for people living with dementia and their families through work on diagnosis. It gave recognition of the importance of taking a person-centred and flexible approach to providing support at all stages of the dementia journey through work on diagnosis and for all stages of the illness - and in all care settings. We will build on this in our new dementia strategy.

What have we already achieved?

Improving care and support for people with dementia and those who care for them has been major ambition of this government since 2007. Since then, dementia services have been transformed, with excellent contributions from staff working across health and social care, and the wider public, third and independent sectors.

Scotland can be proud of its work on dementia, which is regarded as world leading. The Scottish Government has the ambition to go further, and we know this is shared across Scotland.

Why will this be a 'New Story'?

We will develop our Strategy by going above and beyond efforts to listen to the voices of lived experience.

The questions we ask are deliberately open, enabling you to highlight your views and experiences as you think relevant. We will run a series of online and in-person discussions, to enable people to engage in the way they choose to.

We are also taking a co-productive approach, with our National Dementia Lived Experience Panel working with us to take responses we receive from this Conversation and to turn these into a new, forward-thinking Strategy. This will also be supported by our Strategic Advisory Group, made up of a wide range of professions and practitioners including members from equality organisations.

How can I respond?

You can respond in writing by responding to the consultation via Citizen Space.

To enable people to respond how they choose, we would also be open to receiving video and audio clips of people responding to these questions. Please email dementiapolicy@gov.scot for details on how to do so.

We will also hold a series of online conversations on the Strategy. Further details will be provided shortly. To express an interest, please email dementiapolicy@gov.scot. We will also work with partners to facilitate additional face-to-face discussions.

How long do I have to respond?

We are open to receiving responses until Monday 5 December.

What do next steps look like?

All responses will be collated and analysed.

We will continue to engage with interested people, groups and organisations prior to and following the publication of the Strategy on how we can deliver on its proposed outcomes.

We will also work with our National Dementia Lived Experience Panel to develop responses into a fully-formed, outcomes focused Strategy. Our target date for publication is April 2023.

A National Conversation to inform a New Dementia Strategy for Scotland

As an individual with an interest in the lives of people living with dementia, and those providing care/support:

1. What does dementia mean to you and those around you?

2. What supports work well for you?

3. What challenges need to be addressed?

4. How would addressing these challenges change lives?

5. What do we need to build on/learn from what has been done before?

6. What else would you like to tell us?