UK Government calls for improvement in the early diagnosis rates of dementia

UK Government Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow, said that regional variation in the diagnosis rates of dementia must improve at the launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia’s report in July 2012 on Unlocking Diagnosis: The key to improving the lives of people with dementia. He agreed with the report’s findings on the importance of early and accurate diagnosis and set out plans to develop a new tool to help improve dementia services. Improving diagnosis rates is a key part of the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge launched in March 2012.

This report includes written evidence from the Royal College of Nursing, quoted widely across the issues including highlighting the RCN’s web-based resource developed to raise awareness of dementia amongst nursing staff.

The UK Government’s new tool will help clinical commissioning groups calculate the prevalence of dementia within their local area; and help to map the demand for, and supply of, appropriate dementia services, and to create local trajectories for increased diagnosis. A new campaign aimed at raising awareness of the early signs and symptoms of dementia, and encouraging people to see their GP at an early stage, is planned for 2012-2013.

Websites: 1) DH Unlocking Diagnosis: the key to improving the lives of people with dementia; 2) RCN’s web resource Dignity in dementia: improving care in general hospital settings and 3) DH Dementia Challenge