Scotland ‘faces looming crisis over dementia’

SNP ministers were warned of an ‘impending crisis’ yesterday as the number of Scots prescribed dementia drugs nearly doubled in only seven years.

In 2016-17, 263,444 patients were given dementia medicine, compared to 135,840 in 2010-11.

Compared with two years ago, doctors now give out 70 more prescriptions for the drugs every day, as the number of those diagnosed with the illness soars.

The figures were released by Information Services Division Scotland and come after the Scottish Government previously revealed that the number of those diagnosed with dementia is set to rise by 20,000 per year by 2020.

Scottish Tory public health spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘It’s of course welcome that so many people are living longer.

‘But it would be foolish to ignore the challenges that brings for the NHS and we can see from these figures more and more people are being treated for dementia.

‘The Scottish Government will have seen this coming down the track for many years, so there’s no excuse for it not to be ready.

‘We need to start seeing signs that the SNP has a plan for this impending crisis.’

But mental health minister Maureen Watt said: ‘These claims demonstrate a rather disappointing ignorance of the fantastic efforts of health and care staff in Scotland to diagnose and support people living with dementia.

‘We want to ensure that everyone who has dementia is identified and gets the support they need – rather than leave them untreated, afraid and alone.

‘Our National Dementia Strategy sets out actions to improve outcomes for those with dementia.’