Dementia Care With Principles, Scotland

Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Article Date: 03 Sep 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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As Scotland's review of the impact of recent changes to mental health legislation gears up, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland will be raising awareness of the impact of the legislation on older people at two major conferences this week.

'Five years after the mental health act' on September 2nd, will examine the progress that has been made towards delivering the intentions of the first major overhaul of Scottish mental health legislation in fifty years. In his conference address, Commissioner Jamie Malcolm will be highlighting how the 2003 Act has been used in the care of older people and discussing some of the issues for people with dementia. In particular, he will emphasise how helpful of the Principles of the Act can be in ensuring that older people receive care with full respect for their individual human rights, dignity and equality. 'As Scotland's dementia rates grow, more and more people are likely to come within the sphere of the legislation. By monitoring the use of the law and visiting people who are subject to it, the Commission has got a unique overview of where some changes may be needed to deliver what was intended.'

At a separate international conference, organised by the Dementia Services Development Centre in Stirling, Director of the Commission Donald Lyons will be highlighting the need for services and individuals to plan ahead to reduce the need for using mental health legislation. 'Use of the mental health act for people over 85 doubled in the year after the introduction of the Mental Health Care & Treatment Act. When we looked into this we found that, on the whole, the rights of people with dementia were better protected than they would have been without a legal intervention. But we are concerned that, with better advance planning on behalf of individuals and services, other less restrictive options could be used to deliver similar benefits and protection. Our analysis suggests that people should be appointing welfare attorneys while they are able, and making advance statements about the kind of care treatment they would like to receive should they become ill in future. We also believe that services should think about earlier - better planned - intervention using welfare guardianship to ensure that people with dementia are well supported and protected from harm.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland is an independent statutory organisation. We work at the interface of clinical, ethical and legal decision-making to safeguard the rights and welfare of people with a mental illness, learning disability, dementia, or other mental disorder.

We do this by

- Monitoring and reporting on the use of mental health and incapacity laws
- Providing advice and information to service users and professionals
- Promoting best practice
- Conducting investigations and inquiries
- Influencing policy makers and service providers

Information from our work programme can be found at http://www.mwcscot.org.uk

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland