This week in Parliament I backed an innovative project which raises awareness of the vital contribution of those who care for adults across the Kingdom living with dementia.

The Dementia Carer Voices Project from the Health and Social Care Alliance harnesses the work of Tommy Whitelaw, a former carer for his late Mum Joan, who has collected hundreds of life stories from people which detail the difficult and different experience of caring for a loved one living with dementia.

These stories demonstrated that carers of people with dementia often feel isolated and that there is insufficient recognition of the range of complex issues about which they are expected to have understanding.

The project aims to empower carers by raising awareness of dementia and the carer journey amongst health and social care professionals, and providing a platform from which carers’ views and experiences can inform future policy and service provision.

Speaking during a debate on Parliament I said:

“Dementia is a condition which impacts on so many families and individuals across Scotland and it is a condition which is only expected to increase.

“The level of demand will impact on health and social cares services and we must ensure we develop services which will respond to these increasing demands.

“The letters that have been collected are powerful and are testimony to the valuable work that carers do, but they are also about human experience. Being a carer is not a job, it is part of being a family and the letters demonstrate that while people do it for the best of reasons, they can’t and shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

Programme Director of the Health and Social Care Alliance, Irene Oldfather, said:

“Discussing and debating the carer experience is to be welcomed as a way of increasing awareness of dementia and the carer journey.

“Carers of people with dementia describe the journey as an emotional roller coaster which is both rewarding and incredibly sad as you lose a little of the person each day. The ALLIANCE welcomes the Parliamentary debate and the commitment of MSPS across the chamber to promoting the carer experience.”

Dementia Carer Voices Project Officer, Tommy Whitelaw, said:

“I would like to thank MSPs for their on-going interest and taking this opportunity to listen to the thoughts, feelings and experiences of carers. It is imperative that we raise awareness of the impact of dementia on families, and the vital role played by carers, so that nobody else in Scotland has to go through the caring journey experiencing the loneliness and isolation that we did.”