Day 3: Alzheimer’s Scotland Edinburgh office
I spent the whole day at the Alzheimer’s Scotland office in Edinburgh! This was a chance to see another Alzheimer Scotland Brain Health and Dementia Resource Centre and the support offered to people living with dementia. I also had the chance to meet some occupational therapy students on placement with Elaine. They were involved in both clinical and advocacy-based activities, such as delivering activities in the Alzheimer Scotland Brain Health and Dementia Resource Centre, and working with the Scottish Dementia Working Group and the National Dementia Carers Action Network. These placements offer a unique perspective by exposing students to lived experiences of dementia, a model that could benefit Australia, where student exposure remains largely clinical and very limited for allied health.
Elaine toured me through over a decade of Allied Health Professional (AHP) dementia resources. From the Journeying with Dementia to a range of evidence based AHP led self-management resources, I was amazed at the quality and comprehensiveness of the resources. Everything was printed on nicely finished, strong paper for durability. They had even adapted everything to go in the post during the pandemic! I was so impressed by the amount of thought that had gone into all these resources. “It shows the person you value them and want them to succeed,” said Elaine.
I really liked the AHP postcard-sized advertisements for Connecting People, Connecting Support and the AHP Dementia blog. Yet a number of the AHPs we met at yesterday’s event (see previous blog here) had been unaware of these resources, despite best efforts to promote their availability on the web. Elaine had mentioned the implementation gaps they were facing, as outlined in their recent AHP report and that really resonates with our situation in Australia, too. Yesterday’s event highlighted the importance of direct dissemination and investment in physical materials to increase reach and impact.
After this, it was time for Elaine to meet with the co-chairs of the AHP Dementia Forum! I was able to join this call with Elaine and meet some more great people working in this area: Prof Maggie Nicol, Emeritus Professor at Queen Margaret University, Claire Craig, a physiotherapist and dementia specialist improvement lead from NHS Ayrshire and Arran, who is part of the team delivering the local Carers Academy, and Jeff Dormer from NHS Forth Valley, who is an AHP Coordinator. Claire and Jeff are co-chairs of the AHP dementia forum which is a great example of how to create a sustainable community of practice with ability to cascade information within their NHS boards, through supporting the next group of upcoming AHP leaders in dementia care.
Listening in to the discussions was very interesting, as it was about sustainability of AHP leadership in dementia care beyond the NHS Board roles created from funding to deliver Connecting People, Connecting Support. There were also some concerns about the current focus on frailty in many boards, where AHPs were not at the table when designing things like frailty wards, and dementia was not a particular focus. This makes the continuing role of the AHP Dementia Forum all the more important to highlight the overlaps and subsequent need for thoughtful integration. In Australia, we have Allied Health Professions Australia banging the drum for us, but my time with Elaine showed me that both Australia and Scotland have shared challenges and hard yards in ensuring that AHPs are included at these higher levels of decision making, and their contributions to dementia care are visible to everyone.
The day concluded with the chance to meet A/Prof Fiona MacLean, Edinburgh Napier University, and a strategic partner in a number of dementia education programmes of work! Fiona provided insights into Scotland’s dementia education landscape, including the Promoting Excellence framework, student-led clinics, and development and evaluation of a Masters module on rights-based care. All these education initiatives are centred around the idea of developing AHP leadership in dementia care, starting right from being a student. Fiona’s work on CPD delivery and use of implementation frameworks for evaluating CPD offerings was really inspiring
Summary
During my time in Scotland, I could see how a well-supported AHP leadership model in dementia care can inspire, connect, and drive positive change across systems. It was very clear that persistent and collaborative effort was key to sustained progress, and the phrase “it takes a village” that I hear often in connection with dementia care is certainly applicable here. I met so many passionate AHPs committed to delivering high-quality support for people living with dementia. I felt really inspired by the collaborative and innovative work taking place, particularly through the leadership of Elaine, Wendy, and many others. Elaine’s unique role, which bridges the Scottish Government, Alzheimer Scotland, NHS boards, and advocacy groups, allows her to foster meaningful partnerships and mentor others—an approach that amplifies the impact of AHPs across different settings for dementia care and support.
I am so grateful to everyone who has shared their time, thoughts, experiences and knowledge with me during my time in Scotland, and I hope we as a team can pay even a fraction of that forward to Australian AHPs who work with people living with dementia and their families. I left with a wealth of beautifully printed resources, and my brain full of ideas to share with the research team about how we can creatively share our work, and nurture AHP leaders in dementia care in Australia!
Contributor: Dr Marianne Coleman, Henry Brodaty Mid-Career Research Fellow, National Centre for Healthy Ageing, Monash University, Marianne.coleman@monash.edu, https://dementiaeyecare.org
