Warnings over huge rises in dementia drug prescriptions

Tories say NHS needs to plan for swelling number of patients

The health time-bomb facing Tayside and Fife has been laid bare by figures showing dementia drug handouts have more than doubled.

There were 50,169 prescriptions in the area in 2016-17, up 136% on the 21,279 from six years earlier, according to Scottish Government figures.

The Tories warned the SNP administration is not prepared for the “impending crisis”, which is being driven by Scotland’s ageing population.

Patients were given 263,444 prescriptions for dementia across Scotland last year, compared with 135,840 in 2016-17.

Scottish Conservative public health spokeswoman 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

“We can see from these figures more and more people are being treated for dementia. ANNIE WELLS

many years now, so there’s no excuse for it not to be ready. This rise will also pose huge challenges for hospitals who treat these patients when they succumb to other ailments.

“Having been in charge of health and social care for more than a decade, we need to start seeing signs the SNP has a plan for this impending crisis.”

In Fife, the number of prescriptions for dementia drugs increased from 13,274 in 2010-11 to 30,411 in 2016-17.

In Tayside, it went up from 8,005 to 19,758 over that period.

There were 16,712 people diagnosed with dementia in 2014, with 19,473 predicted in 2020.

Mental health minister Maureen Watt said the Tory 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,” she added.

“We commissioned and published the first ever report last year on estimated annual diagnosed incidence for dementia in Scotland, showing a projected rise to 20,000 per year by 2020.

“Our 2017-2020 National Dementia Strategy sets out actions to continue to transform services and improve outcomes for people with dementia, their families and carers and to give them the right care, at the right time in the right setting.”

Picture: Kim Cessford. Sally Magnusson has been a prominent campaigner on behalf of issues connected with dementia after her mother suffered from the condition. It has emerged more people than ever in Scotland are being treated for the condition.