University will deliver Dementia Champions in nationwide project
Paisley’s university has been named the official provider of the awardwinning Scotland’s National Dement i a Champions programme.
Pioneering work by staff at the University of the West of Scotland in Paisley is being done to improve the lives of those living with dementia.
Now UWS’s Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice ( ASCPP) – a partnership with Alzheimer Scotland – has been awarded a new contract by NHS Education for Scotland to teach the next cohort of dementia champions who will lead and sustain frontline developments in dementia care.
A Dementia Champion is a health and social care professional who has completed an intensive programme, teaching participants to see, hear and feel the experiences of people living with dementia through working closely with them, their carers and their families.
Since 2011, ASCPP has prepared 1,000 Dementia Champions, who have gone on to have a lasting impact on the lives of those with dementia.
Dr Anna Jack- Waugh, senior lecturer at UWS’s Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice, said: “The Dementia Champions Faculty at the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice is delighted to be commissioned to design, deliver and evaluate Scotland’s National Dementia Champions programme for 2021.
“Focussed on supporting the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 recovery, the faculty will facilitate the education of health and social care professionals to be change agents in their area of practice.
“People with dementia and their families, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Nurse Consultants and expert digital technologists will support the development of this programme – which will include all the features of the previous award-winning programme – for exciting digital delivery.”
Following the new contract announcement, it is anticipated that the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice at UWS will educate a further 150 NHS and social services staff this year.
Ian Campbell, a Scottish Dementia Working Group member who is living with dementia, said: “As a person living with dementia and a member of the group, it is truly inspiring to know that the programme will continue and go on to produce our future Dementia Champions.
“This programme is close to my heart as I have had a few difficult experiences in hospital and the Dementia Champions have supported me through this.
“As a group we look forward to working with the next cohort of champions and sharing with them our lived experiences as people with dementia.”
Henry Simmons, chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, added: “The Covid- 19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the dementia community and we welcome the development of this award- winning programme to encompass a particular emphasis on the lived experience of people with dementia during this crisis.”