Through the council's scrutiny function, Councillors are to look into the issue of how dementia sufferers are dealt with when attending hospital for other ailments. Scrutiny allows councillors to focus on a particular topic and find out how better services can be provided to the public. Health scrutiny chair, Coun. Sandy Fraser explained what the review was about:

"What we will be looking at is the experience of older people with mental health problems (and their families/carers) who have to access health services for, say, a physical problem, such as a broken hip following a fall, in order to identify where improvements may be required. We want to know whether or not existing services are meeting people's needs properly, by whether their condition is recognised and whether or not the right connection is made between them and the required treatment.

"For instance, if medication is prescribed, a sufferer of dementia might forget any instructions from a doctor or nurse, as soon as they have left the hospital, if it has not been recognised that they have the condition."

Whilst the health scrutiny review will evaluate how well services are working for people, Coun. Fraser says it is more than just that and that councillors will be considering constructive ways to improve services. He said:

"The transition from accessing primary to secondary care services may not always be as smooth as it might be. We need to ensure the level of information and expertise patients are afforded at the primary level is mirrored in the services they receive afterwards. Dementia is a complex illness and a doctor or nurse, specialising in other areas of medicine may have little or no knowledge and experience of the condition. I look forward to working with colleagues to consider how we can ensure the dignity of patients is respected and their lives made as full as possible in what are very difficult circumstances".