Charity: Pressure on police shows need to improved dementia care

A leading charity has called for improvements in the care of dementia sufferers following concerns on the impact a growing elderly population is having on Police Scotland.

Age Scotland said increased pressure on police resources as a result of the disease, including missing person enquiries and targeted scams, shows the need for more work to be done to reduce the risks to older people.

It comes after Chief Constable Phil Gormley spoke of the looming dementia timebomb in Scotland and the impact it is having on the force's already-stretched budget.

As reported in Friday's Herald, Mr Gormley wants to look at ways in which information on such vulnerable people could be better shared across emergency and other public services.

A spokesman for Age Scotland said: "Age Scotland has worked with the police and a range of partners to raise awareness among older people about scams.

"Increasing pressures on police resources shows the need for more work and a collaborative approach to reduce the risks of older people being successfully targeted by scammers.

"These concerns from the Chief Constable also show the importance of continuing the drive to improve care services and living environments for people with dementia at the same time as increasing understanding among police officers and staff of how to support people with the condition."

However, he added: "It is also important to recognise that older people are not simply a burden on police services but across Scotland play an important role in making our communities safer, through volunteering, taking part in initiatives such as neighbourhood watch schemes, and often being carers themselves."

Seeking elderly people has become a routine police job.

Mr Gormley said it absorbs a lot of officers' time and argued that while the force has the ability to find people, the question should asked if officers are "doing other people's job".

The Scottish Police Federation agreed that the elderly population is putting pressure on its members, but said that all public services are facing the same issue.

Chairman Brian Docherty said: "As society changes, the service needs to change with it, and all public services, the health service etc, are all facing the same challenges.

"It's unfortunate that it's where we are now with society that there has been an increase in these illnesses, but we believe there are more pressing issues that the service needs to be dealing with.

"We need to make sure we've got the proper funding and resources in place."

SOURCE: The Herald Scotland, Victoria Weldon