New dementia strategy in Scotland

This week the Scottish Government launched the first Dementia Strategy in Scotland, to make sure people with all forms of dementia get the health care services they need.

One in three people with Parkinson's have Parkinson's dementia, so we've been involved in the development of the strategy - with two carers of people with Parkinson's dementia on the Government's workstream development groups.

But overall, we think the strategy is quite disappointing.

On the upside, we've raised the profile of Parkinson's dementia - a fairly uncommon form of dementia - to the authorities in Scotland and have made a start in showing that more action is needed.

But the downsides are that the Government in Scotland hasn't put forward any extra money or resources to make the changes that we need - and the strategy overall is focused on more 'typical' dementias, such as Alzheimer's. This means people with less common types of dementia, like Parkinson's dementia will keep struggling to get proper diagnosis and support.

We know that people with Parkinson's dementia have problems getting appropriate services in Scotland. This is something we campaign on as part of our Fair Care for Parkinson's campaign, which you can support through our National Campaigns Network.

If you haven't been able to get the support you need, let us know at pr@parkinsons.org.uk or phone our helpline on 0808 800 0303.