Dementia care priority for health minister

Health minister Nicola Sturgeon has deemed improving care for older people and support for those with dementia as a "personal priority".

At the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Awareness Week conference in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon said the government's chief nursing officer would oversee the implementation of standards of care for people with dementia - as well as ensuring high standards of care for older people.

Her comments follow Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray's call last week for a summit on the "crisis in care in Scotland".

The UK's biggest care home operator Southern Cross, which has 98 homes in Scotland, is on the verge of administration.

Two residents of Edinburgh's Elsie Inglis care home also died recently, one of whom passed away soon after leaving the unit, leading to two police investigations. The home closed soon after that.

Now directly responsible for older people's care, Ms Sturgeon has also pledged that Health Improvement Scotland, the new scrutiny and improvement body for NHS Scotland, will carry out a programme of inspections at care homes to ensure standards are met.

"Improving care for older people means ensuring the implementation of the dementia standards, making sure older people are treated with care and compassion wherever they are and whatever their diagnosis," she said.