Highlands & Islands MSP, Rhoda Grant indicates she has had statistics from Alzheimer Scotland predicting that the number of Alzheimers sufferers in Argyll is likely to double - to 2,500 - in the next 20 years.

This prediction is one of the principal reasons why the MSP is backing the Charter of Rights for People with Dementia in Scotland, launched on 8th October.

Rhoda Grant has also called on the Scottish Government to give the same level of support to dementia care as recently announced by the NHS in England.

She says: ‘As more and more people survive into older age, there will be a greater need for the caring services to ensure that the quality of life is raised for those with dementia, their carers and families. ‘Across the Argyll and Bute area, this number looks likely to almost double from 1,500 to 2,844 by 2031.

‘The NHS in England have already introduced £150 million investment for the first two years of a five year plan that will provide early diagnosis and treatment of dementia as well as improving the standard of care for those with the condition.

‘Alzheimer Scotland has called for £15 million of funding to increase care provision for dementia north of the border.  The Scottish Government should commit itself to this new investment that Alzheimer Scotland are proposing to match the corresponding increase in resources in the NHS in England’.