A
£2.5 million to help empower
people affected by dementia
WORLD RENOWNED NURSING leader has helped secure
a ground-breaking investment which will support people
with dementia and carers to become experts, leaders
and influencers in Scotland.
Professor Brendan McCormack, QMU’s Head of Division of
Nursing, who has a global reputation for his work in person-centred
practice and older people, has been a driving force in securing the
£2.5 million investment from the Life Changes Trust. The funding
will be used to create a School of Leadership in Dementia and a
National Forum for Dementia Policy and Practice.
Professor McCormack has worked in collaboration with leaders
from the Life Changes Trust, Age Scotland and the University
of Edinburgh to bring this exciting development to fruition. The
creation of the National Forum will bring together people with
experience and expertise in dementia, locally and nationally, with
the aim of evidencing what will create better lives for people with
dementia and those who support them.
The Forum will work with people with lived experience and
other key influencers to shape policy and practice in ways that
are meaningful to people’s everyday lives. The Life Changes Trust
School of Leadership will use creative and shared learning methods
to work with communities to empower local leaders to be at the
forefront of change and development. This is so that Scotland
can become an exemplar of how, in all aspects of life, people with
dementia can find meaning, be fully supported and involved and
ultimately, flourish as individuals.
Professor McCormack, who has a reputation as a dynamic
nurse leader, has worked tirelessly throughout his career to ensure
practitioners and policy makers put users of services at the centre of
decision-making. His influence is far reaching with health systems
across the globe keen to learn and adopt his philosophies. He is
proud to be part of this progressive collaboration and delighted that
the programme will bring together people with a particular interest
and experience in dementia to develop their expertise so that they
can be integral to leading positive change at all levels of society.
He said: “Being a part of this ground-breaking development to
work with people living with dementia and their carers strengthens
the opportunity for all people in all communities to reach their full
potential. Our work focuses on helping all people to flourish and the
Life Changes Trust School of Leadership and Policy and Practice
Forum will equip people living with dementia to shape their lives
and communities in ways that really matter to them. Having those
with lived experience leading and shaping future policy and practice
is essential if we are to change their experience for the better.
“Both projects will build on and advance existing good practice
and grow the potential of new, future leaders to make a real
difference to people’s lives.”
Anna Buchanan, Interim CEO of the Life Changes Trust, said,
“The School of Leadership and the Forum will, in due course,
change the landscape of the dementia world in Scotland. They will
create a strong network of people with shared values and purpose,
supporting them to make a major contribution to transforming the
lives of people with dementia and unpaid carers.
“Both projects are vehicles that will support and encourage people
with dementia and their carers to flourish and develop, gaining
leadership skills and confidence to have their voices heard in a
way that will have real impact. They will ensure the needs of people
with dementia, their families and unpaid carers are met and their
lives fundamentally transformed for the better.” ❒
QMYOU / Health & Rehabilitaion
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