Dementia resources and guidance
Here you'll find up-to-date information, resources and guidance to help you in supporting people living with dementia.
Do you provide care to people living with dementia?
The new dementia strategy for Scotland: Everyone's Story was launched in May 2023.
It is a 10-year vision for change. The strategy was developed by Scottish Government, in collaboration with people with lived experience and wider partners. It sets a vision of
“…a Scotland where people living with dementia and their care partners have their strengths recognised, their rights upheld, and are supported to live an independent life, free from stigma and with person centred treatment, support and care when and where they need it.”
Dementia guidance and resources
New dementia strategy for Scotland: Everyone's Story
Dementia strategy: initial 2-year delivery plan - 2024 to 2026
Finding The Why podcast series - David Marshall, Senior Improvement Adviser (Pharmacy) and Katy Jenks, HC One Dementia Care Manager, Scotland discuss improving dementia care and reducing inappropriate use of psychoactive medicines in care homes.
Dementia: ethical issues (Nuffield Council on Bioethics) - a report considering the ethical issues that are raised by dementia
Dementia Skilled Improving Practice: Learning Resource (SSSC and NHS Education for Scotland) - a learning resource to support development of the knowledge and skills set out at the Dementia Skilled Practice Level of Promoting Excellence.
LGBT: Living with dementia - guidance explaining how LGBT people with dementia can remain independent, get the emotional and practical support that's right for them and plan for the future.
Charter for rights for people with dementia and their carers in Scotland - a charter for people with dementia and their carers, developed following consultation with 500 people.
A guide to self-directed support for people with dementia
On the journey to becoming a dementia friendly organisation - sharing the learning for employers and organisations (Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust)
Talking Mats® and involvement in decision making for people with dementia and family carers
Is your housing dementia friendly? EHE Environmental Assessment Tool
Is your care home dementia friendly? EHE Environmental Assessment Tool
Interests and activities toolkit for use with people with dementia: a guide for staff and carers (NHS Dumfries and Galloway)
Good practice in the design of homes and living spaces for people with dementia and sight loss (University of Stirling)
Eating well: supporting older people and older people with dementia: practical guide (The Caroline Walker Trust)
Talking Together: Facilitating peer support activities to help people with learning disabilities understand about growing older and living with dementia (Foundation for people with learning difficulties)
Proud to care LGBT Health and Wellbeing toolkit to support health and social care staff to reflect on and develop their practice in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people with dementia.
Living well characters - An IRISS resource which introduces characters to show how self-directed support can work for people with younger onset dementia.
Sensational sensory space at St Modan’s care home in Fraserburgh (August 2024)
St Modan’s care home in Fraserburgh created a sensational sensory space for residents to enjoy. The room provides a soothing environment for individuals living with a wide range of conditions, including brain injury and many types of dementia.
In April 2023, the St Modan’s team began the project by researching the use and design of sensory rooms. They worked on personalised plans to meet people’s individual needs and raised funds with the support of the local community through initiatives like assault courses, summer fetes, quiz nights and a Halloween party.
Julie-Anne Thomson, care home manager, said: “Setting up new approaches to care has challenges - moving away from medical intervention and gaining the buy in from colleagues and relatives was a challenge initially.”
Once they had raised enough money, the project became a reality in April 2024. The team purchased equipment and designed the room with the individuals in mind. It included a variety of lights, sounds, movement and textures.
The team developed care plans and risk assessments for each resident who would use the room. These detailed the equipment each resident would like to access, how to move and position the residents, which lighting and sounds should be used, and the length of time suitable for the best therapeutic value and optimum individualised support. Personal preferences of individuals highlighted the benefits for their time in the room to support relaxation and often sleep. They also produced a user guide and provided training for staff and relatives to support 24/7 access to the room.
Since introducing the sensory room, staff have seen increased engagement, particularly for residents who generally prefer their own company or become agitated by others around them. Interaction between residents and team members has increased, stress and distress symptoms have reduced on most occasions, and in some instances, there has been a reduction in the use of anti-psychotic medication. Resident and family engagement has also increased, particularly with their grandchildren. It has reduced the fear factor and stigma for younger visitors into the service with one younger visitor said that he enjoys visiting grandma and the “super cool room”.
One resident said: “It’s affa bonny and I am feeling very relaxed”. Another added: “It’s the most magical room, very relaxing and makes you feel miles away from the busy home. I enjoy having my music on and watching all the lights change colours”.
One relative said: “Mum can have fluctuations in her mood at times and during these instances the sensory room enables her to have a calm quiet environment to engage in”. Another added: “I really enjoy being in the room and spending time with my dad. My son loves having a room to engage with grandad. They love watching the bubble tube and changing the different colours of the lights. I enjoy watching them have lots of fun together. My dad loves watching his grandson explore with all the sensory tools”.
Concert at the Park (July 2024)
Hawkhill House proudly teamed up with three other local nursing homes, Tor na Dee, Cowdray Club, and Torry Nursing Home, in an innovative initiative called "Concert at the Park: sharing best practices in dementia care".
Launched in summer 2019, the initiative aimed to improve dementia care by sharing best practice among local nursing homes. After pausing due to the pandemic, the care homes were happy to share that the project resumed last month with renewed enthusiasm. This marks a significant milestone for all involved, reflecting the commitment to learning and collaboration in enhancing care standards for those who experience care.
Held at Duthie Park in Aberdeen on 7 June, the event showcased each home’s unique contributions to dementia care. Hawkhill House presented their innovative strategies for promoting and supporting nutrition for residents living with dementia. Tor na Dee introduced their Na Maste approach, highlighting its benefits for residents' wellbeing. Cowdray Club emphasized their exceptional dining experience, while Torry Nursing Home discussed the therapeutic advantages of their sensory garden.
The event was attended by residents and staff from all four homes and received support from Lorraine McDonald from the Care Inspectorate as well as Steven Booth and Wendy Marsay of the Aberdeen Health and Social Care Partnership.
Feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive, with attendees praising the wealth of knowledge shared and the sense of community fostered.
Mel Shearer from Hawkhill House nursing home said: "We are delighted with the positive feedback and look forward to our next collaboration next summer. This event has truly demonstrated the strength of uniting and sharing knowledge to deliver the highest quality care for our residents.
“The success of Concert at the Park not only highlights the dedication and innovation within each home but also sets a precedent for future collaborations. We are already looking forward to 2025!”
The personal story of Morag who cares for her husband Alan who has multiple sclerosis and dementia (2016)
The Care Inspectorate is engaging with frontline staff who provide care to people with dementia and care partners, to participate in the co-design of new dementia resources.
The project is to develop easily accessible and understood resources to support the frontline social care workforce in their caring role for people living with dementia, who may be experiencing stress and distress, and their families.
The resources will support improvements in person-centred care to reduce stress and distress for people through appropriate assessment, care planning and meaningful connections and activity.
Initially a survey was widely distributed to frontline social care staff, followed by several stakeholder workshop events with the aim of co-designing practical tools and resources to support frontline social care staff in their work. During these workshops, we explored what resources participants felt would make a difference and why.
See our progress to date and how we plan to progress.
We are gathering stories of what frontline staff and care partners have done differently that has led to a better outcome for the people they care for. If you or your colleagues wish to share tips, ideas, learning experiences and stories that will help others caring for people who have dementia, to learn and understand the many ways that can reduce incidences of stress and distress. Here are the tool and guidance to use.
All stories and enquiries can be sent to us at practicaldementia@careinspectorate.gov.scot
We can then share your stories wider for the purpose of learning from each other.
We will continue to provide updates on this page as our work progresses.
Applications from hospital and care home teams to take part in the 2026 Focus on Dementia: Reducing Stress and Distress Improvement Programme have now closed.
The programme is a collaboration between us, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland.
The programme will support teams to plan and implement improvement activity within their service area to better support people living with dementia who experience stress and distress.
Participating teams will complete a 12-month improvement programme. Teams will be supported via online group learning sessions and one-to-one coaching. The improvement programme will be delivered in two cohorts: April and July 2026.
Participating care homes by cohort
Resources
Resources have been developed to accompany this program. The change package is one of the documents supporting teams on this quality improvement programme.
Progress update March 2026 - Focus on Dementia: Reducing stress and distress
Case Study: Small changes lead to big improvements at Auchtermairnie
Progress update October 2025 - Focus on Dementia: Reducing stress and distress
Self-evaluation tool for reducing stress and distress for people living with dementia - This tool sets out what is expected from high-quality, person-centred care to enable good outcomes for people living with dementia and their care partners. It enables staff, managers and leaders in care home services and hospitals to identify areas of good practice and areas for improvement.
The change package is one of the other documents supporting teams on this quality improvement programme.
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