Trauma Informed ApproachIt is important to acknowledge the relationship between trauma and dementia and the ways trauma might impact someone living with dementia. The National Trauma Transformation Programme provides a range of resources and we would like to highlight two in particular: The first one is Opening ...
World Alzheimer Report 2024World Alzheimer Report 2024 - The 2024 World Alzheimer Report offers a global perspective on changing attitudes towards dementia.
Timely Diagnosis of DementiaTimely Diagnosis of Dementia -With a timely diagnosis, treatment and support, many people can continue to lead active and fulfilled lives.
Dementia SubtypesDementia Subtypes - A range of information on the different forms of dementia from Alzheimer Scotland, Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK.
Help if you are a CarerThis website link provides information on the support you can get if you are an unpaid carer in Scotland.
Charter of RightsThe Charter of Rights for People with Dementia and their Carers aims to empower people with dementia, those who support them and the community as a whole, to ensure their rights are recognised and respected.
Getting a Mobility CarIf you receive a benefit because you have a disability or illness that makes it hard for you to get around, you can use it to pay for a vehicle from a charity called Motability.
A Stay in Hospital – Top TipsThis page provides some useful information for anyone with dementia going into hospital to make the visit more comfortable.
Keeping Safe and SecureInformation on keeping safe inside and outside the home from Alzheimer Scotland
Building Healthy Habits – Age ScotlandAge Scotland offers some useful advice on how to build healthy habits for later in life to keep you well for longer.
Alcohol and Dementia – The LancetAlcohol and Dementia - The Lancet - This study from The Lancet shows evidence of excessive alcohol use and an increased risk of dementia.
Cancer and DementiaCancer and Dementia - This link provides useful information and advice for anyone affected by dementia and cancer, as provided by Macmillan
SIGN GuidelinesThe guideline covers: the identification and diagnosis of dementia, investigative procedures, post-diagnostic support, non-pharmacological distressed behaviours, grief and dementia, the changing needs of people with dementia, and palliative approaches.
Driving and DementiaA diagnosis of dementia does not automatically mean you need to stop driving and many people with dementia are able to continue driving for some time after their diagnosis. There are steps you can take to reduce any risks with driving. You need to inform the DVLA and your insurance following a diagnosis of dementia and further tests can be requested to establish your safety.
Valued Carer CardCarers registered with Carers of West Dunbartonshire are entitled to a Valued Carer card. This will act as a form of identification, while also unlocking discounts, promotions and unique services provided by local businesses. Businesses and organisations supporting the Valued Carer project have the opportunity ...
Vision LossVision Loss - Studies have shown that vision loss could be a risk factor for dementia, however if the vision loss is managed, there is no additional risk.
Cholesterol and DementiaCholesterol and Dementia This resource explains the link between cholesterol and dementia, what cholesterol is and how to manage it to reduce the risk of developing dementia. https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/managing-the-risk-of-dementia/possible-risks-of-dementia/cholesterol
CEA CardOnline information and application form for a cinema card
Dementia ToolkitDementia Toolkit for assessment, diagnosis, care and support for people with dementia and their carers developed by Improvement Scotland / Right Decision Service
Grants and DiscountsOnline information on grants and discounts available to carers.
The Herbert ProtocolFollowing its introduction in Scotland, the Hebert Protocol has been used many times to trace missing people with dementia and return them home. It is another example of how emergency and care services are working together to keep those with dementia safe.
Home First – NHS InformWhen your medical treatment is finished, the best place for you to recover is at home. This is known as the Home First approach. Home First brings together different types of support to allow you to recover at home. This will help to maintain your ...
Bereavement and Loss ResourcesBereavement and Loss Resources - a collection of resources where help and support for grief can be sought.
Day Care ServicesInformation on West Dunbartonshire Day Care Services for people living with Dementia
Financial and Legal PlanningFinancial and Legal Planning -
If a person has dementia, it is important that they organise their financial and legal affairs while they are still able to do so.
My Life AssessmentHow to access support from West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care services
What is dementia: Easy Read FactsheetWhat is dementia: Easy read factsheet. This easy read factsheet by Alzheimer’s Society is about what dementia is and how it affects people. It is written for people with learning disabilities.
Primary Care – GP DetailsIf you are worried about your memory, you should contact your GP for an assessment.
Please find here the contact details for your local health services
Power of Attorney and WillsIf a person has dementia, it is important that they organise their financial and legal affairs while they are still able to do so. This ensures that in the future, their affairs will be set up in a way that they have chosen.
Care at Home ServicesCare at Home services in West Dunbartonshire provide care in your own home. This section provides information on referrals and assessments made by social work teams.
Community Planning Annual Report 2021-22This Annual Report updates on the priorities and outcomes, set by Community Planning West Dunbartonshire in the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (West Dunbartonshire Plan for Place) 2017-2027, for the year 2021-22.
Useful tips on the COVID-19 vaccine for people with dementiaThis briefing developed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, working with Dementia UK, includes useful tips for giving the COVID-19 vaccine without causing distress and how to explain the vaccination to someone who is living with dementia.
The Many Faces of DementiaThis online course enables you to gain a unique insight into dementia through the stories, symptoms and science behind four less common diagnoses of dementia, the people involved and the implications of these for our wider understanding.
Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementiaThe World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia provide evidence-based recommendations on lifestyle behaviours and interventions to delay or prevent cognitive decline and dementia.
Music and DementiaFind out more about the positive effect of music for people living with dementia.
What would life be – without a song or dance, what are we?This report by the Commission on Dementia and Music outlines the value and benefits of music for people with dementia and looks at the important next steps which can be taken to ensure that everyone with dementia is able to access music.
Do I see what you see?In this film, produced by Created Out Of Mind, people share stories and experiences of living with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), a rare form of dementia that commonly affects vision.
Delirium awareness videoDelirium in older adults often goes unrecognised by health care professionals and can be poorly managed. This video was produced with the aim of improving recognition and management of delirium in any healthcare setting.
John’s CampaignJohn’s Campaign is about the right of people who care for someone living with dementia to be able to stay with them – and the right of people with dementia to be able to have a family carer stay with them. It applies to all ...
Dementia Strategy ScotlandThe National Dementia Strategy maintains a focus on improving the quality of care for people living with dementia and their families through work on diagnosis, including post-diagnostic support.
Enabling people with dementia to remain at home: a housing perspectiveThis report published by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network sets out the key role housing providers, and in particular social housing providers, can play in supporting people living with dementia to stay independent in the home of their choice for as long as possible.
West Dumbartonshire Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2017-27This strategic assessment of the West Dunbartonshire CPP area and locality profiles has been developed to support the identification of priorities and priority communities in line with the requirements around locality planning.
Dementia Friendly Housing CharterThis toolkit aims to help professionals in their support of people living with dementia in their homes and facilitate consistency and good practice.
How living with dementia could beThis short animated video highlights how living with dementia could be through the 'well pathway for dementia'. It shows the importance of a holistic partnership approach to supporting the person with dementia, their families and carers within local community settings.
The Daily SparkleThe Daily Sparkle is a professionally written daily and weekly reminiscence and activity tool supported by the UK's leading care organisations such as the NHS, AgeUK and DementiaUK.
Joint declaration on post-diagnostic dementia care and supportThis joint declaration signed by signatories across government, health, social care and the third sector sets out a shared commitment to deliver good quality post-diagnostic dementia care.
Making your home dementia friendlyThis booklet published by the Alzheimer's Society aims to help people with dementia to live well in their own home. It describes ways to create or adapt the home environment so that it remains a safe and familiar place. This can help make daily living activities easier and keep people in touch with the things they enjoy doing.
How can we make our cities dementia friendly?This briefing paper published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation contributes to the emerging evidence base for Dementia friendly communities by drawing out the key messages from independent evaluations of their work programmes in Bradford and York.
Accessible Information StandardThe Accessible Information Standard tells organisations how they should ensure that disabled patients receive information in formats that they can understand and they receive appropriate support to help them to communicate.
Living with Young Onset DementiaThis video published by Dementia UK highlights the experiences of younger people being diagnosed and living with dementia.
Women and Dementia: A global research overviewThis report published by Alzheimer’s Disease International explores the main issues affecting women in relation to dementia from an international perspective.
Women’s experiences of dementiaThe 'Women's experiences of dementia' website contains a wealth of stories which highlight the experiences of women affected by dementia.
Younger people with dementiaThis factsheet published by the Alzheimer's Society explores at the types of dementia that younger people under 65 years of age may have, some of the difficulties that they might experience and where support can be found.
Good to go: A guide to dementia-friendly days outThis handbook published by Care UK aims to support carers relatives and friends who want to enjoy a variety of outings and trips with someone living with dementia.
Information about Lewy Body DementiaThis information published by the Lewy Body Society aims to help people with Lewy body dementia (LBD), their families and health care professionals learn more about the disease and find ways and resources to help them cope with it.
Creating a dementia friendly workplace: A practical guide for employersThis guide published by the Alzheimer's Society is designed to help employers provide support for staff members with dementia. It may also be a useful resource for people living with, or affested by, dementia in the workplace.
Dementia Friendly Communities: New domains and global examplesThis report, published by Alzheimer’s Disease International, highlights the emerging trend to create dementia-friendly communities as a global response against stigma in an effort to form more inclusive societies for people living with dementia.
Duty of Candour: Information for all providersThis document published by the Care Quality Commission sets out how meeting the Duty of Candour regulation will be central to both registration and inspection for NHS bodies and all other care providers regulated by the CQC.
Women and dementia: A marginalised majorityThis report published by Alzheimer's Research UK reveals that dementia has become the leading cause of death among British women and that women are far more likely to end up as carers of those with dementia than men, suffering physical and emotional stress and job losses in the process.
Join Dementia ResearchJoin Dementia Research aims to accelerate the pace of dementia research by allowing people with and without dementia to register their interest in studies, helping researchers find the right participants at the right time.
Pain in People with Dementia: A Silent TragedyThis report, published by Napp Pharmaceuticals, draws on a survey of interviews with experts, major providers of care, and on desk research. It quantifies the problem and sets out the issues in recognising, assessing and managing pain in people with dementia.
Wearing glasses with dementia factsheetThis factsheet discusses the issues that people with dementia who need to wear glasses may face. It will be useful for people with dementia, their families, carers, and professionals.
Cracks in the pathwayThis report presents the findings of a Care Quality Commission review of the care people living with dementia receive as they moved between care homes and acute hospitals.
Supporting a person with dementiaThis Easy Read factsheet published by the the Alzheimer's Society provides advice for someone with learning disabilities who may have a friend or relative with dementia.
Improving the delivery of adult diabetes care through integrationThis report published by Diabetes UK explains how diabetes care can be improved to achieve better outcomes for people with diabetes. The challenge for commissioners and healthcare providers locally is to make the system work to support that.
Grief, loss and bereavementThis factsheet published by the Alzheimers Society looks at some of the feelings carers may experience in caring for someone living with dementia and suggests ways to cope. It also looks at supporting a person with dementia to cope with grief and bereavement.
Planning for your future careThis guidance published by the National Council for Palliative Care explains advance care planning to the public. It outlines the different options available to people when planning for their end of life care.
Telehealth and Telecare AwareThis online information portal provides a news and information service for people interested in telecare and telehealth.
Better care for older peopleThis online resource published by the General Medical Council aims to help doctors challenge the stereotypes associated with older people and tackle the most common concerns older people have about their care.
Continence Product AdvisorThe Continence Product Advisor is a website providing evidence-based guidance on how to select appropriate products for managing incontinence and use them effectively.
Improving cancer patient experience: A top tips guideThis guide published by Macmillan Cancer Support provides top tips to support professionals make service improvements in response to the National Cancer Survey and deliver improved patient experience.
Cancer information factsheetsThese factsheets published by Macmillan Cancer Support cover a variety of topics relating to cancer, such as chemotherapy drugs, less common cancer types and practical issues for cancer care professionals.
Duty to Care? Supporting and involving unpaid carers of people at the end of lifeThis resource covers the three plenary discussion sessions at the ‘Duty to Care?' conference held in 2013 facilitated by the National Council for Palliative Care. Three detailed scenarios were debated to help identify and explore the practical issues involved in being or supporting a carer.
Care and Support Jargon BusterThe Care and Support Jargon Buster published by Think Local Act Personal is a plain English guide to the most commonly used social care words and phrases and what they mean.
Focus on dementia researchThe National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) website Focus on Dementia showcases some of the cutting-edge clinical research that could bring new hope to dementia patients and their families.
Carer’s health checkA Carer's health check should be offered to any newly-registered carers according to local guidelines or the terms of any Local Enhanced Service.
Initial review following diagnosisThis guidance outlines the steps that a practitioner should consider during an initial review with a patient that has received a formal diagnosis of dementia.
What causes dementia?Dementia is the result of brain cells being damaged in an ongoing way. This happens as a result of a number of different diseases (sometimes referred to as ‘types’ of dementia). It is not an inevitable part of ageing.
What is dementia?This resource will help practitioners to understand that dementia is more than just difficulties with memory. Dementia is not a single disease but a term used to describe a group of symptoms.
The dementia guideThis guide produced by the Alzheimer's Society is for anyone who has recently been told they have dementia.
Can dementia be prevented?These web pages on the NHS Choices portal give advice on leading a healthy lifestyle to help lower your risk of developing dementia when you are older.
Virtual Hospital modelling toolThe Virtual Hospital modelling tool, developed by the Dementia Services Development Centre, aims to show good design can help to make an acute hospital setting dementia-friendly.
Thinking Ahead: a planning guide for familiesThis guidance, published by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, provides a clear framework to help the families of people with learning disabilities plan for the future and address the concerns they have.
Diabetes care pathwayThis NICE care pathway defines clinical best practice for diabetes care. It covers managing type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Risk ScoreThe Diabetes Risk Score is an assessment tool which aims to identify individuals with impaired glucose regulation (IGR) and is designed to predict an individual’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within the next ten years. It was developed by University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in collaboration with Diabetes UK.
Building dementia-friendly communities: A priority for everyoneThis report, published by the Alzheimer's Society, explores evidence from people with dementia about their experiences of living in their community and the ten key things they would like to see in a dementia-friendly community.
Assistive technology – devices to help with everyday livingThis factsheet published by the Alzheimer's Society explores technological developments that can help make life easier for people with dementia and their carers in certain situations.
Frontotemporal dementiaThis article published in the British Medical Journal highlights some of the issues pertinent to Frontotemporal dementia, a clinically and pathologically heterogeneous group of non-Alzheimer dementias characterised collectively by relatively selective, progressive atrophy involving the frontal or temporal lobes, or both.
Dementia and aggressive behaviourThis factsheet produced by the Alzheimer's Society aims to aid understanding about what may cause this type of behaviour and offers some ways to deal with it.
Participation in dementia researchThis short film aims to encourage more patients and carers to take part in ground-breaking research into dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Dementia: Finding housing solutionsThis report, published by the National Housing Federation, highlights how good housing and related services can impact positively on the lives of people with dementia, from delaying more intensive forms of care to preventing admission and readmission to hospital.
Making a Difference in Dementia: Nursing StrategyThis nursing vision and strategy for dementia care, published by the Department of Health, makes clear that every nurse can make a difference to the care of people with dementia.
RCGP Commissioning Guidance in End of Life CareThis guidance offers a logical six-step framework and overview to support GP commissioners to deliver practical improvements in end of life care, aligned with national policy and quality standards.
Handy guide to selecting a care homeThis guide published by the Alzheimer’s Society is designed to be taken into care homes by people with dementia and their families and provides an independent and objective guide to what makes good quality care.
Supporting people with dementia at homeThis training resource published by the Alzheimer’s Society aims to help homecare workers provide excellent person centred support for people with dementia who are living at home.
How would I know? What can I do?This guide, developed by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC), provides advice for carers and those who work with people with dementia on how to help with pain and distress in people with the condition.
Hospital 2 Home resource packThis resource is designed to make it easier for health and social care professionals involved in hospital discharge to support older patients in returning home safely after a hospital stay and reduce the risk of readmission to hospital.
Sight, perception and hallucinations in dementiaThis Alzheimer's Society factsheet considers some specific difficulties that people with dementia can have with sight, perception and hallucinations, and suggests ways to support them.
Ten tips for communicating with a person with dementiaThese top tips produced by the Family Caregiver Alliance will help practitioners and those caring for a person with dementia to improve communication skills and ability to handle the difficult behaviour.
Moving and walking aboutThis Alzheimer's Society factsheet explains some of the reasons why a person with dementia may walk about and looks at what you can do to help.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting around 496,000 people in the UK. This Alzheimer's Society factsheet outlines the symptoms and risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, and describes what treatments are currently available.
The later stages of dementiaDuring the later stages of dementia most people will become increasingly frail due to the progression of the illness. They will also gradually become dependent on others for all of their care.
What is vascular dementia?Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. This Alzheimer's Society factsheet outlines the causes, symptoms and treatments available for vascular dementia.
Gold Standard Framework Prognostic Indicator GuidanceThis guidance aims to help GPs, clinicians and other professionals in earlier identification of those adult patients nearing the end of their life who may need additional support.
Committed to carers: Supporting carers of people at the end of lifeThis report published by the Marie Curie Cancer Care draws on the direct experiences of people caring for someone at the end of life and on Marie Curie Cancer Care’s years of expertise of caring for carers.
Service specification for dementia: better care at home, and in care homesThis specification has been designed to support primary care in the assessment and management of people with problematic symptoms of dementia or other complex presentations living at home, in a care home or other residential setting.
Unusual behaviourThis factsheet produced by the Alzheimer’s Society outlines some typical sorts of unusual behaviour in people with dementia and explains some common causes.
This is me'This is me' is a leaflet produced by the Alzheimer's Society to help hospital staff better understand the needs of people with dementia.
Making decisions: who decides when you can’t?This guidance published by the Office of the Public Guardian explains how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 affects anyone who is unable to make some or all decisions for themselves. It provides advice to help people to plan ahead in case they are unable to make and understand decisions in the future.
Services for younger people with DementiaPeople who develop early onset dementia in their 40s, 50s or early 60s, or sometimes younger, often have different needs from older people. Alzheimer Scotland provides specialist support, activities and groups for people with dementia under 65 in some areas. Visit the links in this page to find out what is available in your area.