Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland: Action to support the change programme, Scotland's National Dementia Strategy

Introduction

People with dementia retain the same rights as anyone else in society but the nature of their illness means that they often have great difficulty in protecting their own rights.

There is still stigma and discrimination against people with dementia and they and their carers often feel, with some justification, that they are treated with less respect, dignity and understanding than other members of society.

These standards relate to everyone with a diagnosis of dementia in Scotland regardless of where they live, their age, the supports they receive or the severity of their illness. This includes younger people, people with a learning disability and people with rare types of dementia. They apply to people living in their own homes, care homes or hospitals, especially general hospitals. For all the standards, we have given guidance about how they can be measured.

These standards have been developed to help people with dementia and their carers understand their rights, and how these rights can help make sure that they receive the support they need to stay well, safe and listened to.

The two main sources of information which underpins these standards are:

1 The Charter of Rights for People with Dementia and their Carers in Scotland. ( >1)

2 What people with dementia and their carers in Scotland have identified as being important to them and what they want from services.

To ensure continuous improvement, the standards should be used in conjunction with Promoting Excellence: A framework for health and social care staff working with people with dementia and their carers. ( >14)

The framework outlines in detail the skills and knowledge health and social care staff should have depending on the role they play in supporting people with dementia.

We have identified organisations that have the main responsibility to make sure that each standard is met. However, the standards require many organisations to work together.

( >Denotes link to signposts section)