A pioneering scheme has begun in Scotland which should lead to improved care services at home for people with dementia in remote and rural areas.

Two local authorities – Orkney Islands and Scottish Borders – have formed a partnership with the Centre for Rural Health, part of the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands, and the Scottish Agricultural College in a £100,000 project to enable care workers to exchange skills and knowledge with academics.

Funded with a grant of £80,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish Funding Council and the Local Authority Research Council Initiative, the 12-month project will pilot a range of knowledge-exchange activities such as seminars and study visits. Orkney Islands Council and Scottish Borders Council have each contributed £10,000 to the initiative, as well as staff time.

Review

A member of staff from each council has visited UHI in Inverness and the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling to train in the use of research evidence. With advice from academics and librarians, they will produce a "state of the art" review of research and expert opinion on dementia care-at-home services and assess its relevance to rural and remote communities with the aim of promoting innovative services to support people with dementia and their carers.

The review will begin a process within each local authority to engage health boards, voluntary organisations, dementia sufferers and their carers in the production of improved plans for care-at-home services.

Dementia numbers

Alzheimer’s Scotland estimates that 69,500 people in Scotland currently have some form of dementia. It affects at least six per cent of people over 65. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form, but dementia can complicate Parkinson's disease, stroke and other degenerative neurological diseases such as Huntington's and motor neuron disease.

Professor Jane Farmer, UHI co-director of Centre for Rural Health, which is a partnership with the University of Aberdeen, said: "Academics are often criticised for ivory tower thinking. The Centre for Rural Health and the Scottish Agricultural College both have a track record in applied research that has practical benefits for service providers and communities. This project will enable us to develop new perspectives on research evidence from the point of view of the people who use the services.

"With other local authority staff also receiving training in how to locate, appraise and use research evidence in planning and evaluating services, the project will have a long term impact within each local authority.

Drama

"We’ll be using innovative techniques for involving older people and their carers in preparation of dementia service plans, including working with Forum Theatre, a special form of drama that will encourage service users and carers to express their views about their needs and the services they receive.

Joan Mitchell, assistant director (community care) at Orkney Islands Council, said: "We are delighted to be part of this year-long research project which will help us, together with service users, carers and partner agencies to provide better services for people with dementia. Throughout the project, we will continually develop our dementia services based on the evidence which emerges from the research. This is particularly important in a remote and rural community where access to specialist services can be difficult, and where there is an increasing ageing population on many of the islands."

David Hume, chief executive of Scottish Borders Council, explained: "Providing cost effective quality services in a rural area is always a challenge. Given the substantial predicted increase of people with dementia in the Borders we very much welcome this approach to develop strong partnerships between care professionals, researchers and academics to improve services for local people and their area."

Timely and relevant

The council’s director of social work, Andrew Lowe, added: "We are currently consulting on a local strategy for dementia services as part of a wider review of older people’s services and this project is timely and highly relevant to our work".