The head of a company leading a non-drug dementia treatment is calling for the approach to early dementia intervention to be strengthened, to empower people living with the condition and their loved ones to access the support they need to live well.

Devika Wood, a digital health specialist and CEO of Brain+, says inconsistencies services available to people living with dementia and a lack of clear signposting to post-diagnostic support remains a “fundamental” flaw in the handling of dementia care.

Ms Wood, who from the age of 10 cared for her Nani who had dementia, said postcode lotteries in the support is available to people with dementia and their loved ones persist across the UK.

Speaking to healthandcare.scot, she said this “goes against your right access good quality care” and there’s a huge need to create a streamlined approach to dementia service provision.

National charity Alzheimer Scotland is also calling for a national standard of what dementia care should look like across the country is needed to deliver support through every stage of dementia.

Ms Wood highlights the need to transform ambitions for dementia care into action which spans beyond just access to novel medicine and treatment to local, community-based supports.

She says, while the Scottish government has “done so well in terms of its dementia strategy”, it must now deliver at every level.

Ms Wood told healthandcare.scot she was disappointed to see the latest Alzheimer’s drug rejection, but the change needed “goes far beyond the pill” and pharmacological interventions are not the whole story in the fight against dementia:

“One of the biggest issues that we're seeing pervasive across dementia strategies is the fact that there's a real lack of coherent understanding and signposting for people that have been diagnosed with dementia or are living with those who have dementia.

“People aren't being empowered to know what’s there. Being able to have informed decisions about care and how they should support their loved ones is vital.”

Brain+ helps deliver cognitive stimulation therapy, a non-drug intervention for people living with dementia, shown to delay cognitive decline, reduce aggression and anxiety and improve overall mood and wellbeing.

This involves group activities tailored to engaging people’s thinking and memory skills and helping them connect with others, including through music, discussing news and playing word games.

Here, too, Ms Wood emphasises the power of early intervention – pointing to research that shows for people with mild-to-moderate dementia, as it can delay cognitive decline by up to six months.

The company has worked with Age UK and care homes across the UK to facilitate sessions and Ms Wood says the difference it can make “really is magical”.

She is keen to see the therapy and other early supports become more widely available to people living with dementia and their carers and loved ones.

Alongside this, she said things like music therapy and dementia cafés critical to many people living with dementia are often undervalued.

Capturing evidence around improved outcomes, she says, will be key to the continued funding and roll out of effective services.

Delivering integrated health and care services, alongside a public health shift to dispel stigma around dementia, to serve the more than 90,000 people affected in Scotland, will also be key according to the Brain+ CEO:

“It goes far beyond a drug, far beyond the therapy, to raising awareness of what can be done and empowering individuals with those tools to support their loved ones to live healthier, longer lives – adding life to years, not years to life.”

Local cuts risk dementia services

With the prevalence of dementia projected to rise by 50% by 2044, charity Alzheimer Scotland says investment is needed if the system is to move from a place of crisis to care.

Echoing Ms Wood’s call for improved access to support across Scotland, the charity says the government must introduce a national standards to avoid deepening the postcode lottery to access diagnosis and support.

It says the estimated £153m cuts across local services will also put existing specialist support at risk, potentially removing lifeline services for many Scots and putting more pressure on unpaid carers.

One carer told the charity that the proposed closure of a Clydebank dementia day service sets up a “false economy”, which will cost local authorities more long-term:

“If we lose these services, where will our loved ones find the same high-quality care?

“Without services like this, a lot of carers just won’t be able to cope anymore which will only increase pressure on social services, who are already overstretched.”

Alzheimer Scotland is urging leaders to stop the cuts, protect dementia services and create dementia care pathways that guarantee support at every stage end ‘ends the postcode lottery for good’.

Read more: Fair funding to see Scotland lead dementia research; Charting Scotland's future health demand; Scotland “cannot be complacent” on cancer rise; Expanding Scotland’s frailty care to address NHS waits; “Get ready now” for advances in dementia care; Action needed on women’s brain health; National shift needed for dementia; New outdoor brain health centre; NHS Fife embracing music therapy

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