Report Hilights 'Barriers' To Dementia Diagnosis

A new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia says that many patients face "shocking" delays for dementia diagnosis and treatment. It claims that GPs are often seen as barriers to a diagnosis and that some people have to wait more than a year for an appointment at a memory clinic.

The inquiry was set up to examine big discrepancies in dementia diagnosis rates. Across the UK it is estimated that only 43% of people with the disease have a formal diagnosis.Scotland has the highest rate with 64.5%. In Northern Ireland it is 61.5% and in England it is 41%. The diagnosis rate is lowest in Wales, with 37.4%.

The report says there is strong evidence to show the benefit of early diagnosis for people with dementia, their families, and also to the taxpayer. 

But the inquiry highlights what it calls "barriers" to diagnosis and treatment, after looking at evidence submitted by more than 1,000 carers, GPs and hospital specialists.

These include poor public understanding of dementia. More than a third of carers who responded said the person with the condition had waited more than a year to go to their GP. The report says many came to regard GPs as barriers to diagnosis rather than gatekeepers.

It also identifies big variations in access to memory services. Some people reported having to wait more than a year for an appointment at a memory clinic, while for others it was just a few weeks.
And it says people often received no information or support following diagnosis.