One in ten Scots died as a result of dementia or Alzheimer's in 2017, statistics have revealed

One in ten people in Scotland die as a result of dementia and Alzheimer’s, statistics have revealed.

Data from the National Records of Scotland has shown that the amount of people who died of dementia rose by 12.3% and Alzheimer’s 15.8% in the last three months of 2017, compared to the previous period.

Alzheimer Scotland has said it is important that deaths caused by the conditions are accurately reported.

The proportion of deaths caused by the condition was one in 20 a decade ago, and politicians have called for greater investment in care services.

Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “The significant rise in deaths from dementia shows our NHS faces unprecedented challenges in acute and community care.

“However, the SNP has repeatedly underfunded primary care, reduced bed numbers and presided over a massive workforce crisis. It must invest now in workforce, bed numbers, information technology and particularly GPs, who have to deal with the sharp end of these demographic shifts."

Jim Pearson, director of policy and research at Alzheimer Scotland, said that dementia is the biggest health and social care challenge faced by society.

“The rise in the number of recorded deaths with dementia, published by the National Records of Scotland, are a stark reminder that this is a huge public health issue at a local, national and global level,” he said.

“Alzheimer Scotland welcomes this more accurate recording of dementia on death certificates in Scotland, as this will help us to better understand the scale of what is needed to provide appropriate end of life care for people with dementia and those who care for them.”