The Royal British Legion Scotland branch in Inverness have launched new funding to support veterans with dementia.
It is the first funding of its kind supplied by a legion branch anywhere in the country.
The legion first spotted an opportunity to better support veterans with dementia in the Inverness area over two years ago, and have been working studiously ever since to pull together the funding to launch a new grant. They were awarded funding of £14k earlier this year from the armed forces covenant Libor fund and are now launching their new financial support service to help local veterans.
Joe Davidson, chairman of the Legion Scotland Inverness branch, had personal experience of dementia through a friend and having liaised with the local dementia day care centre realised that in that one centre alone there were 12 veterans with dementia and four others associated with it who were in need of respite support.
The NHS covers most of the cost of respite breaks but the patient is expected to pay an amount towards this which many veterans are simply not able to afford.
This new Legion Scotland Inverness Respite Care Aid Grant will pay for this to enable the veterans to receive respite support.
Veterans and their families based in the Inverness and District area who are interested in finding out more about this should contact Joe Davidson on 07774 248798 or Ian Burnett on 07881 815873. Alternatively they can visit
http://www.legionscotland.org.uk/how-can-we-help/grants/
to download the application form. Forms can also be collected at the Legion Scotland branch office in Huntly Street in Inverness.