Dementia care in England is not good enough, the NHS’s head of dementia care has admitted.
Four out of five patients wait too long for a diagnosis – and then face a postcode lottery in the quality of their care and support, he said.
Official statistics show 82 per cent of patients wait longer than the target of six weeks for a diagnosis and care plan after being referred for suspected dementia. Nearly half wait more than 18 weeks – and those living in the most deprived areas wait the longest.
Jeremy Isaacs, NHS England’s national clinical director for dementia, described waiting times for memory clinics as ‘a challenge’ and suggested the target could be shifted from six to 18 weeks.
He insisted patients should not have to wait to be seen by a specialist doctor but could instead be diagnosed by a GP, nurse or even care home staff to help reduce waiting times.
He stressed patients with clear symptoms could be diagnosed by any health or care professional ‘with the right training’ and that it should not be necessary to wait to see a specialist.
Speaking at the Dementias 2025 conference in London last month, he said: ‘Support and care is not in the right place… We have too much variation in access to [dementia] support in this country. We absolutely have to try to do something about that.’
Isaacs also said too many people in care homes were living undiagnosed, which meant they couldn’t always access the right care and support.
Jeremy Isaacs, NHS England’s national clinical director for dementia, described waiting times for memory clinics as ‘a challenge’ and suggested the target could be shifted from six to 18 weeks
NHS data shows wide variation in the quality of dementia care in different parts of England. On average, two thirds of people with dementia receive standard care – meaning they have a care plan which is reviewed every year at their GP practice.
But in the NHS Black Country region, which covers Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, only half of people with dementia receive this care.
And although it is recommended that people aged over 65 with late-stage dementia are on the palliative care register, only 6 per cent of eligible patients are on the register in the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly region, compared with a national average of 19 per cent and a high of 32 per cent in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region.
Mr Isaacs said NHS officials in areas with low levels of standard care should ‘ask yourself: what are we doing wrong?’.
Research shows 45 per cent of cases of dementia could be delayed or prevented, yet two in three people do not know dementia is a preventable condition, Mr Isaacs told the event.
Isaacs also said too many people in care homes were living undiagnosed, which meant they couldn’t always access the right care and support (stock image)
He said it was vital more people were taught they could help reduce their risk by limiting alcohol consumption to less than 21 units per week, keeping their BMI under 30, stopping smoking and keeping socially active, and by getting help for health conditions like hearing loss, depression, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
‘Delaying onset of dementia for everyone is a necessity so that we can handle demographic ageing,’ he added.
Experts warned long delays for diagnosis could be damaging for patients.
Professor Fiona Carragher, chief policy and research officer with the charity Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘A third of people living with dementia in the UK do not have a diagnosis, leaving them without access to care, support and treatment and putting them at greater risk of crisis.
‘We also know that early diagnosis can help reduce some of the huge costs and pressure dementia places on the NHS.
‘The recent removal of a dementia diagnosis target was a step backwards and we would like to see ambitious and achievable diagnosis rates being reinstated as well as long-term investment in the tools and workforce needed to get everyone the diagnosis they deserve.’
