On 17 March, Henry Simmons, the Chief Executive of Alzheimer Scotland, issued a first statement on how Alzheimer Scotland is responding to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This statement, which was published on their website and shared via their social media channels, outlined the measures Alzheimer Scotland had put in place to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of the people they support, their staff and volunteers. These included increased cleaning regimes in all their local Dementia Resource Centres and services, as well as regular monitoring of staff temperatures. Henry Simmons emphasised Alzheimer Scotland’s unwavering commitment to provide support for people with dementia, their carers and families. He encouraged people to use the Alzheimer Scotland 24h Freephone Dementia Helpline as a source of support and information.
An update to this statement was released on 24 March, in response to the new UK and Scotland lockdown guidelines issued by the Prime Minister on 23 March. From 24 March, all Alzheimer Scotland office bases and Dementia Resource Centres will be closed, with staff and volunteers working from home. In addition, the level of support provided to the 24h Freephone Dementia Hotline has been increased, with the creation of a central support team aiming to help people experiencing difficulties in accessing medication, information or emotional support. Moving forwards, Alzheimer Scotland hopes to convert their Day Services into a home support service for those in greatest need, while other activities and community groups will be moved online. Further updates will be provided in due course.
