​A charity alliance is calling on health and social care workers to pledge to make a difference when caring for those with dementia.

Doctors and nurses are amongst those being urged to do more to help Scotland’s 88,000 people living with dementia.

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland’s latest campaign is asking health and social care professionals to pledge to do one thing extra when treating those with the condition or speaking with their carers.

Since You Can Make A Difference recently launched the alliance has received over 200 pledges from across Scotland including from Paul Gray, director general of health and social care and chief executive of NHS Scotland.

Carers tell us that a little bit of time, listening and understanding can make an unimaginable difference during what can be a very difficult and lonely journey

He provided one of the first pledges, promising “to listen to carers and learn from what they say, and to share what I learn to improve services.”

Tommy Whitelaw, of the alliance’s Dementia Carer Voices project, which organised the campaign, has experience of being a carer and said he knows from his own personal experience that people can make a difference.

“Carers tell us that a little bit of time, listening and understanding can make an unimaginable difference during what can be a very difficult and lonely journey,” he said.

“In my case it was a district nurse who not only gave me practical advice about how to take care of my mum, but sat down, put her arm around me and told me ‘You’re doing all right’.”

The project has been welcomed by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland which has 39,000 members in the nursing profession.

This summer it plans to publish a Scottish guide to involving carers in the care of those with dementia themselves.

Associate director Ellen Hudson said the campaign was timely with an increasing number of people in Scotland living with dementia.

She added: “By highlighting to staff the difference they can make and asking them to make a pledge this campaign will, hopefully, make a difference and lead to better care for people living with dementia by involving them and their carers working in partnership with staff.”

For more information on the campaign and to find out how you can submit a pledge, visit the project's website.