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Chamber

Plenary, 08 Oct 2009

08 Oct 2009 · S3 · Plenary

Item of business

Dementia

Scanlon, Mary Con Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

As the vice-convener of the cross-party group on Alzheimer's, I thank Irene Oldfather for her tremendous commitment to dementia, and I commend all those who have been involved in producing the charter of rights for people with dementia and their carers. I can certainly confirm that there is nowhere in this Parliament for members to hide when Irene Oldfather is looking for them, particularly if she wants them to sign her charter.

In a previous debate, Cathy Jamieson compared the human rights of a person with dementia with the human rights of prisoners. The difference that she highlighted was stark, and I trust that the charter will go some way towards bridging the gap. As Irene Oldfather pointed out, "Remember, I'm still me" highlighted very serious failings in care of the elderly, including care of people with dementia. Dementia services are often poorly resourced, patchy and inappropriate and are often provided by staff who have little or no knowledge of the illness. The charter provides a clear list of what individuals can expect and demand and, as the cross-party group has stated,

"aims to empower people with dementia, those who support them and the community as a whole, to ensure their rights are recognised and respected."

I hope and trust that the charter will push dementia care further up the political agenda, particularly given the projected increase by 2029 of 65 per cent in people with dementia. On the basis of current care patterns, an additional 16,800 hospital and care home places will be required to deal with that increase. We must all be aware of that.

Although I welcome everything in the charter, it would be naive of me to think that it will resolve all the issues related to dementia care in Scotland. However, one solution that was highlighted at a briefing that was given this week in Parliament by psychologists from across Scotland will undoubtedly help to deal with some of the issues that it identifies. In her presentation on the key role of psychologists in services for older people, Dr Jennifer Borthwick, who is a consultant clinical psychologist from NHS Lanarkshire, highlighted the fact that, for people aged under 20, there are eight psychologists per 100,000; for those aged 20 to 64, there are 6.7 per 100,000; and for the over-65s, there are 0.6 per 100,000. In other words, although they make up 20 per cent of the population, the over-65s get only 5 per cent of the psychology workforce. Many reasons were suggested for that lack of psychological support, including stigma, the stiff upper lip and people saying, "Well of course you're depressed. You're 75, you've got arthritis and your husband died five years ago." However, the sad fact is that the patients are as likely to think that way as the referrers.

Dr Borthwick also pointed out that older people are not what they once were. We have heard that 60 is the new 40; well, perhaps 80 is the new 60 and perhaps older people's expectations of services and how they want to be treated have changed. As Dr Borthwick made clear, over-65s no longer expect to go to a day centre or care home to listen to Jimmy Shand for six hours. We have also moved on from the stiff-upper-lip stereotype to a cohort that is more used to expressing emotions, making demands, expecting more than is being provided at the moment with regard to individual need and looking for services to reflect the lifestyles that they enjoy and expect to enjoy. We need only look at the two ladies on the charter's front cover to realise that.