Hidden inside budget reports for council areas across Scotland are new plans that will have a devastating effect on many of our country’s most vulnerable people.

Vital health and social care services supporting tens of thousands of people living with dementia, their families and carers are quietly being earmarked for closure and severe reductions in some of the most swingeing cuts ever seen.

In a desperate bid to plug predicted budget gaps, members of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) across the country are choosing to find millions of pounds of savings from their older people and community care budgets.

Unfortunately, this is where the mainstay of community support and dementia-specific services can be found.

Among the worst affected areas are care at home, respite and day care services, which provide lifeline support to people who are in a moderate to advanced stage of their illness. Post diagnostic support services are also under pressure in some areas, despite a world-leading commitment that every person diagnosed should receive a minimum of one year’s support.

To make matters worse, many families are also being hit with significantly increased charges for many forms of community support.

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All of this will place an inordinate level of pressure on family carers, while the........

© Herald Scotland