New dementia strategy for Scotland: Everyone's Story

The Building Blocks

This strategy builds on more than two decades of progress in dementia policy, development and investment. The timeline below shows significant milestones.

2001

Scottish Dementia Working Group (SDWG) established. First dementia lived experience group in the world.

2007

Scottish Government makes Dementia a national clinical priority.

2009

Charter of Rights published from work of Parliamentary Cross Party Group on Dementia, Scottish Human Rights Commission and Alzheimer Scotland, informed by a series of national consultation events with people with lived experience.

2010

First National Dementia Strategy published 2010-2013 and first Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Resource Centre opens in Dundee.

2011

Standards for Care in Dementia in Scotland published and Promoting Excellence Learning and Skills Framework, to support the delivery of the Standards, published. The National Dementia Carers Action Network was established by Alzheimer Scotland.

2013

Second National Dementia Strategy, including the first post diagnostic standard in the world, published. 2013 also saw the establishment of the Life Changes Trust. Established with a £50 million, ten-year endowment from the National Lottery Community Fund, the Trust invested in 318 projects focussed on people living with dementia and their unpaid carers, to have a say in their own lives. The National Dementia Consultants Programme was also established in 2013 to support the implementation of rights-based dementia standards in hospitals across the country and the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium was established by Alzheimer Scotland; a network of dementia researchers, policy makers and people living with dementia.

2014

The Glasgow Declaration was signed at Alzheimer Europe’s conference in Glasgow. The Glasgow Declaration called for the creation of a European Dementia Strategy and national strategies in every country in Europe. The signatories also called upon world leaders to recognise dementia as a public health priority and to develop a global action plan on dementia.

2016

The Scottish Government was a key partner in the European Union second Joint Action on Dementia. The action was led by the Scottish Government on behalf of the United Kingdom, with participation from Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom.

2017

Third National Dementia Strategy published, launching the Connecting People: Connecting Support, the first ever National Allied Health Professionals Dementia Workforce Framework, based on rights-based, person-centred principles and integrating the contribution of AHPs to dementia care. 2017 also saw the launch of the Care Inspectorate’s My Life, My Care Home, establishing rights based dementia standards for inspection and publication of Dementia Pathways guidance to the housing sector on supporting people living with dementia.

2018

Proposals to modernise Community and Specialist Dementia Inpatient Care in line with rights based principles established. 2018 also saw the post diagnostic support (PDS) Quality Improvement Framework, a benchmark for best practice in post diagnostic support (PDS), created by Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Focus on Dementia Team.

2019

Age Scotland establishes About Dementia Project, engaging people living with dementia and their carers to have a meaningful impact on policy and practice. Kirrie Connections, Scotland’s first Meeting Centre, opens in Kirriemuir. Housing and Dementia Framework, toolkit for housing organisations to better support people living with dementia, created by Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland (CIH), Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) iHub and Alzheimer Scotland, launched.

2020

The Scottish Government’s Dementia COVID-19 Action Plan was published in recognition of the disproportionate impact the pandemic was having on people living with dementia and their families.

2021

Sponsored by the Scottish Government, Scotland’s first Brain Health and Dementia Research Strategy launched.

2022

The Scottish Government’s first Dementia Lived Experience Panel established as part of the governance structure for the development and delivery of a new national dementia strategy. The Life Changes Trust concludes leaving a legacy of 11 funded projects led by Age Scotland’s About Dementia. The Scottish Government report on excess Deaths from Dementia and Covid-19 published.

2023

New National Dementia Strategy launched.