Hansard

I thank Sandra White for securing this evening’s debate. I welcome the people in the gallery, and I apologise for the late running—although it is great to have everyone here.

As Sandra White has pointed out, about 90,000 people in Scotland are diagnosed with dementia, and the figure will be higher if we take those who have not yet been diagnosed. We have an ageing population, and the condition is likely to affect more people, as time goes on.

I was not here 10 years ago, but as I have read about the subject it has become clear to me that the charter has become a landmark in dementia and in how our treatment of dementia has progressed over the past 10 years. It introduced an approach to health and social care that is based on human rights. That is fundamentally important. It has helped to shape dementia policy in the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament and, I hope, within our political parties, as we try to work out how to help people with the condition. The charter has brought the issue of dementia carers to the forefront—it is a condition that affects individuals, but it affects their wider families, as well.

In my speech, I wish to look ahead. Where can we go now and in the next 10 years? I have three quick points to make. First—as Sandra White pointed out in her excellent speech—we have started to see people with dementia and their families as equal members of our community. There is still some social stigma attached to talking about dementia within the family, and some communities still hide it away and do not want to acknowledge it. We have to get to a place where families, individuals and communities can talk about it openly, and where we feel that people with dementia and their families are part of the community. I know that we all want that.

Secondly, we must ensure that people with dementia and their families have active voices and can participate in decision making on the policies not only of the Scottish Government but of local authorities, communities and Parliament. It is important that we have ambassadors pushing us politicians regarding the decisions that we make.

Thirdly, drawing from my constituents and the people whom I talk with, including my family, I think that we still need to ask whether the workforce is getting the appropriate training to deal with people with dementia. When I talk about the workforce, I use the widest definition—medical intervention, social care or help that is given in nursing homes and other such places. We have to prioritise, so that those who work with families and the people with dementia have the appropriate training. It goes beyond that: training needs to cover people in pharmacies and in various social settings, who need to understand that the language that they use and how they communicate and explain things must be appropriate.

We have come a long way in 10 years, for which we can take collective credit. There is still progress to be made, however, so I hope that the people in the gallery and others can keep pushing us, as politicians, to make the appropriate changes that will make easier the lives of people with dementia and those of their families.