Scotland’s National Dementia Champions Programme was the result of a commission for a collaborative programme to teach qualified staff to become "change agents" in dementia care.
In 2010, the Scottish Government gave NHS Education Scotland funding to create this programme, which is delivered by University of West Scotland (UWS) and Alzheimer Scotland.
Since the inception of the programme, there are now over 800 Dementia Champions working to improve dementia care across Scotland. These are health and social care professionals who work with people living with dementia and have completed the eight-month UWS-led programme.
The programme has had a transformational impact on the knowledge and skills of the participants and was praised by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.