Written Question · S4W-09488 · Session 4
What it is doing to improve diagnosis of dementia in hospital inpatients, in light of the recent report by the Royal College of Physicians …
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve diagnosis of dementia in hospital inpatients, in light of the recent report by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
The answer
The Scottish Government’s National Dementia Strategy recognises that improving diagnosis of dementia is key to helping people access effective care, treatment and support. We met our diagnosis target nationally and, earlier this year, The Alzheimer Society published Mapping the Dementia Gap: Progress on improving diagnosis of dementia 2010-2011, detailing relative performance across the United Kingdom, which showed Scotland’s strong performance on diagnosis, especially in comparison to England and Wales.
We are addressing the challenges associated with improving the diagnosis of dementia in hospitals and The Chief Nursing Officer continues to work with NHS boards to improve service response in hospitals, including improving the identification and recording of dementia, which includes improving the sharing of information between primary and secondary care. This activity complements the programme of inspections of acute general hospitals by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), which have highlighted the identification and recording of dementia as an area for improvement. Action plans drawn up by boards to address areas for improvement identified by the HIS reports include attention to these issues, and we expect boards to be giving the action plans urgent attention.
We also continue our national action to help develop and upskill the dementia workforce, including training 300 Dementia Champions by 2013 from acute general hospital and associated care settings, to lead change at the frontline, and supporting Alzheimer Scotland in appointing a Specialist Dementia Nurse to every NHS board, with 11 in post to date. Supporting the identification and assessment of people with dementia in hospitals is an integral part of the work of both the champions and the specialists.
The Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland (2011) states that hospitals are required to have systems in place so staff can easily identify someone with dementia and that hospitals should have access to specialist dementia advice.
We are addressing the challenges associated with improving the diagnosis of dementia in hospitals and The Chief Nursing Officer continues to work with NHS boards to improve service response in hospitals, including improving the identification and recording of dementia, which includes improving the sharing of information between primary and secondary care. This activity complements the programme of inspections of acute general hospitals by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), which have highlighted the identification and recording of dementia as an area for improvement. Action plans drawn up by boards to address areas for improvement identified by the HIS reports include attention to these issues, and we expect boards to be giving the action plans urgent attention.
We also continue our national action to help develop and upskill the dementia workforce, including training 300 Dementia Champions by 2013 from acute general hospital and associated care settings, to lead change at the frontline, and supporting Alzheimer Scotland in appointing a Specialist Dementia Nurse to every NHS board, with 11 in post to date. Supporting the identification and assessment of people with dementia in hospitals is an integral part of the work of both the champions and the specialists.
The Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland (2011) states that hospitals are required to have systems in place so staff can easily identify someone with dementia and that hospitals should have access to specialist dementia advice.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S4W-09488 by reference.