Scotland gets new Care Home Tsar

Nov 17 2009 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A NEW Scotland-wide care home champion has been appointed to help older people live better quality lives.

Edith Macintosh, who lives in Perth, is a highly-experienced occupational therapist.

She will spend the next two years working with care homes and day care services to help drive up standards of care and support.

In particular, the appointment, which has been funded by the Scottish Government, is expected to play a major role in helping to improve the lives of people with dementia.

Mrs Macintosh was chosen for the role after an extensive 26-year career as an occupational therapist in both NHS and local authority sectors.

She said yesterday: “The main purpose of this post is to promote and increase access to rehabilitation and enablement to ensure older people in care homes and day services realise their full potential and enjoy a fulfilling life.

“In simple terms, this could be something as basic as older people being encouraged to exercise more or enabling them to have a wider access to a bigger range of activities within the care services or in the community around them.”

The creation of the rehabilitation consultant post follows the success of the appointment of a Nurse Consultant for Older People in 2006, now held by Susan Polding-Clyde.

Gillian Stevenson has since been appointed as Nurse Consultant for Infection Control. She is tasked with influencing improvements to the quality of care to minimise risk of infection.

The appointment follows the publication of the Scottish Government’s Delivery Framework for Adult Rehabilitation in Scotland Document in 2007.

That document examined the evidence for co-ordinated and focused approaches to rehabilitation gaps.

Mrs Macintosh, who was born on the Isle of Lewis but now lives in Perth with her husband, added: “I will be looking to provide support and advice for providers of care, to liaise with key stakeholders and organisations – and to drive change.

“This will include looking at the availability of appropriate training for staff, equipment and activity resources and advising on specialist areas such as the needs of people living with dementia.”