Record numbers of people are being diagnosed with
Dr Jeremy Isaacs, national clinical director for dementia, NHS England, said:“Getting a diagnosis of dementia is the first step in supporting people, with a wide range of NHS services able to help.
“NHS staff have worked hard to recover services with the number of people with a diagnosis rising significantly over the last year, and now at a record level, but there is more work to be done.
“Thousands more individuals are being diagnosed each month and more medication reviews are being done within 12 months.
“Common early symptoms of dementia include forgetting bits of information, saying the same thing repeatedly, struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word and being confused about time and place. Usually, these problems will be more obvious to the person’s family and friends than to the individual themselves.
“If you have noticed that someone has symptoms, please encourage them to visit their GP for an assessment – the sooner someone is seen the quicker the NHS can help.”
The latest figures show 86,434 people with a dementia diagnosis had their medication reviewed in the preceding 12 months.
The figure for June 2023 was 77,112.
In 2022 NHS England announced 14 new pilot schemes in which specialist nurses and other healthcare professionals proactively assess care home residents for dementia.
