East Lothian Dementia Strategy

Overview

The Draft East Lothian Dementia Strategy is for people with dementia and their carers. It explains how health, social care and other groups will provide support and advice in East Lothian. The strategy sets out what they intend to do.

Dementia is an illness that causes damage to a person’s brain. It can lead to memory loss, problems with thinking and changes in behaviour. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing. There are different types of dementia but Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common.

Dementia mostly affects people over the age of 65 but can affect younger people too. Dementia can also affect both men and women.

People in East Lothian are living longer and this means the more people will live with dementia. We think that by 2040, almost 3531 people will be living with dementia in East Lothian. It will affect more women than men. Most of the people with dementia will be between 75-84 years old.

It can be overwhelming for people living with dementia and for their carers and families. There is no cure for dementia but there is a lot that we can do to help people living with the illness and their carers. We want to make sure that we deliver high quality support when people need it.

Why your views matter

We consulted with a lot of people to make sure that we got a wide range of views and ideas for the strategy. We asked them what about would help supporting people with dementia and their carers. We talked to:

• people living with dementia
• their carers and families
• workers
• service providers.

We'd like to hear from you about whether you think we have got the strategy right. You can find the draft strategy in summary, Easy Read and in full at the hyperlinks on this page under the heading 'Related Documents'.

The Online Survey on this page sets out the main points of the draft strategy and asks you what you think is important. It would be great if you could take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire to let us know what you think.

Thank you. 

What happens next

We will collate and analyse the feedback you give us and use it to further develop the draft strategy.