Devon GP welcomes Prime Minister’s dementia challenge

A GP from Budleigh Salterton has welcomed a challenge from the Prime Minister to the NHS for 20 per cent more people who have dementia to be diagnosed by 2015.

Dementia Awareness Week takes place this week (19 – 25 May) and the challenge could lead to 160,000 more people in England with dementia receiving access to treatment and support.

In Exeter, East and Mid Devon a new dementia support worker service has recently launched.

It means support workers closely work with GP practices, community mental health teams, complex care teams, local hospitals and the voluntary sector to identify people living with dementia, and their carers, who need to access health and social care services.

An early assessment clinic is also set to launch in the area in early June this year.

The clinic will aim to diagnose people with dementia at a much earlier stage through a multidisciplinary approach, including a geriatrician and psychiatrist, and will provide a one-stop shop for patients to have an assessment, scan and follow-up on the same day.

Dr Richard Mejzner, a GP from Budleigh Salterton and vice chair of the Eastern Locality of Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said:

“It is vital that people with dementia get access to the care and treatment they need.

“One in three people over 65 will develop dementia and this is even more significant here as we have a high number of elderly people in our communities.

“Unfortunately over half of all people with dementia are undiagnosed so find themselves in the dark about what is happening to them.

“We must start talking more about dementia as the condition touches so many of us and if we all do a little bit the benefit will be enormous.

"We have listened to patients and we have already put in place a number of support services to help people, including dementia support workers. We will also introduce early assessment clinics next month, and later in the summer a service that helps patients to manage their memory and understand their diagnosis.”

Devon’s NHS will find out in July whether it has won a national award for its improvements to dementia care in the county.

The nomination is for the development of a dementia care pathway that has already reduced the waiting times for specialist dementia diagnosis and memory assessment, and has improved awareness of the benefits of diagnosis at an early stage by the patients’ GP.