Meeting of the Parliament 25 September 2025
I recognise the evidence that the member references. Many in the chamber will personally know an individual or a family impacted by dementia. That is why I recently held a round-table discussion in Bute house to discuss how we can better unlock innovation in supporting people with advanced dementia. That was suggested to me by Sir Iain Anderson, a distinguished Scottish businessman. I have asked the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing to take forward work on that.
We will also build on efforts that we are already undertaking to better understand what interventions can make a difference to people’s dementia risk, learning from initiatives such as the Scottish Government-backed pilot of the brain health service and clinic in Aberdeen. Our 10-year dementia strategy focuses on enhancing support in our communities, including through investing in grass-roots support, challenging the stigma that people face following a diagnosis, and improving the training and expertise of our health and social care workforce.