A national conversation to inform a new Dementia Strategy

It forms part of my professional life as a manager of support services for older people and those with a diagnosis of dementia as well as having experience in my personal life of close family members having this diagnosis.
It means having good quality support services available to people with dementia and their carers as they need them throughout their journey, which could range from information and signposting to respite and care services.
It means having good conversations with the people who provide supports and that information being shared along the journey and not having to constantly repeat things to various professionals along the way ie sharing assessments with other professionals and ideally having one contact you can go back to at varying points in the journey that can help signpost rather than one professional doing their small bit and closing the case so people at crisis points have to start again.

Having dementia friendly communities to help support the person with activities of daily life. Respite services that give the carer and the cared for a break from each other as the benefits of this I see in my professional life. Having flexibility within your supports to have sessions in the community/at home or centre based.
Meaningful care at home services where it's not only task focussed but interaction based as well, with adequate funding to those care at home services to support carers getting from one client to next without pressure of time (within reason) ie not getting paid for travelling time.

Care at home services at capacity with all the challenges around recruitment and retention this was a problem before the pandemic but has been further exacerbated due to a burnt out workforce following covid.
Pay scales for the health and social care workers to reflect the work they do
Recruitment and retention going forward ie drops in student nursing applications/social work students/AHP student applications all having a drop in people going forward to be trained and whilst this is a workforce development issue this impacts on people with dementia's care and support in the community.
Peoples experience of diagnostic support and after care appears to vary widely across the city and there is the obvious catch up on diagnosis due to services being restricted during covid. Which then means people are maybe a lot further on in their journey by the time support interventions come along.

If people get the right support at the right time they will be able to live more independently for longer. Also if carers are getting the right support/information to enable them to look after the person the need for respite etc again may not be required till later in the journey.
Having a competent skilled and appropriately paid workforce impact on the person with dementia as they get the right help, care and support at the point of contact.

Build on the dementia friendly communities approach. ?more money invested in training of the public as the demand, certainly in area where I live outstrips the Alzheimer Scotland workers availability to deliver the training. Needs to be a train the trainer approach which is used down south but not here due to the funding arrangement and agreement. Whilst people can individually become a dementia friend its the next step up training I am talking about.
Making it a part of all front facing services training from police/fire/ambulance/etc

On a personal experience the hospital staff approach to people with dementia is not consistent throughout Edinburgh and Lothians. Staff regardless of grade should do refresher courses on dementia regularly. My Mums experience following a break down in her home support due to an infection, she went from being mobile and continent to within a fortnight of being in an Edinburgh hospital being classed as doubly incontinent/ requiring a hoist and having extreme anxiety and distress. (Yet if me or her partner went in we could get her up in wheelchair and to the tiolet on our own as well as taking her out from the ward which considerably reduced her distress). If it had not been for my knowledge of support from the Dementia Team that wards can call on for support, and my advocating on her behalf I would hate to imagine what would have happened to her. Once they sorted out a care plan that all staff had to follow, which was mainly common sense and very basic dementia principles and not anything highly medicalised she did settle but due to her deterioration in cognitive abilities we had to move her into care in a local care home. Within a short space of time she was back walking with a zimmer, had her catheter removed and her overall health and anxiety had much improved. I firmly believe if she had the right support and care in that hospital (like she had at a different hospital following a hip op and rehab) she would never have been required to go into a care home when she did. I hope sharing this personal experience informs the startegy (this was only 6 years ago).