Scotland’s first national dementia strategy will be launched today, with ministers promising an end to patients being left in limbo after a diagnosis – but relying on the Big Lottery Fund to deliver vital improvements.

The new strategy aims to cut the estimated £1.7 billion annual cost of dementia to the Scottish economy, while equipping the nation to cope with an expected doubling of the number of people affected within the next 25 years. About 71,000 Scots currently have one of the illnesses collectively classed as dementia.

There are eight major elements to the new strategy, of which the Government has highlighted two as key. One is better post-diagnosis support for affected individuals and their families, and the other is improved responses in hospitals, through better training and awareness.

There will also be an emphasis on reducing the use of the so-called “chemical cosh” – the use of anti-psychotic drugs that are known to be over-used in some settings to manage difficult or aggressive behaviour in people who have dementia.

Speaking to The Herald, Public Health Minister Shona Robison said the strategy included new national care standards which would enable Scotland to deliver a world-class service.

Robison said “People leave the GP with this diagnosis and they can end up in limbo and only come back into the system when things have got worse.”

Earlier this year the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland announced it was setting up a £50 million fund in part to help provide new dementia services.

Robison said these would be focused on supporting people with dementia after diagnosis and helping them remain in their own homes and communities.

She said she was relaxed about this use of lottery money as it was not replacing Government spending. “It is doing something quite new which is not really there at the moment,” she said.

“It is about helping people deal with the consequences of diagnosis and helping people remain active. There is an opportunity for the voluntary sector to develop early support.”

The Government is urging the statutory and voluntary services to learn the lessons of Edinburgh City Council’s “re-ablement” policy, which focuses on helping older people relearn skills so they can do things for themselves again. The strategy also stresses the need to avoid hospital admission where possible.

An initiative in NHS Forth Valley managed to cut hospital admissions of dementia patients from A&E by 40%, through alternative approaches and better planning for discharge of patients.

Robison said this was better for patients and the public purse. “Someone coming into general health services can be quite quickly escalated into an acute admission, ending up in a hospital bed. From there they are quite likely to be admitted to a care home.

“We know it happens too often and for every day spent in a hospital bed a person’s chance of going back home is diminished.

“What they are able to do for themselves in terms of cognitive level is diminished. If we can prevent that happening, that frees up an important resource.”

Robison defended the lack of new investment, adding: “We spend £1.7bn within the system each year on supporting people with dementia.

“There has been a tendency in the past to add £1m here or there and hope it transforms the system.”

Instead, reducing pressure on acute care would free resources, she claimed, while admitting this would take time.

On the issue of drugs, Robison said: “We will be supporting staff and trainers to handle challenging behaviour in a different way rather than resorting to anti-psychotic drugs.”