Scottish Government teams up with Scottish Huntington’s Association
The Scottish Government has granted £120,000 to Scottish Huntington’s Association for the development of the first National Care Framework for Huntington’s Disease (HD).
The charity will appoint a National Care Framework Lead to work with the Scottish Government, patients and stakeholders to look at the creation of a full framework for Huntington’s disease patients from clinical through to social care. The resulting plan will seek to bring consistency to standards of Huntington’s care across the country and once completed Scottish Huntington’s Association will work with the Scottish Government, NHS boards, health and social care partnerships, and local authorities to implement it.
Because people with neuro-progressive disorders such as Huntington’s often experience similar problems, it is anticipated that there will be lessons that can be rolled out across other neurological conditions.
Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said:
“The Scottish Government wants to ensure that people living with conditions like Huntington’s disease have access to the best possible care and support. This includes support for their families and carers. By working with Scottish Huntington’s Association to help them develop this project, we can deliver a better care framework, based on the experiences of people living with the condition. It’s important to note that the lessons learned from this project will have potential knock-on benefits for improving care in other neurological conditions.”
Scottish Huntington’s Association Chief Executive John Eden said:
“We have ever-growing demands on our resources and this money will ensure we are able to deploy these more effectively to improve the consistency of support we offer across the country. Currently levels of care in Scotland for those affected with Huntington’s disease vary considerably. A national action plan will improve this so families living with Huntington’s should be able to rely on the same services, no matter where they live.”