The head of dementia care in the NHS has admitted that dementia care in England is not good enough. He says that patients face a postcode lottery in the quality of their care and support.
Jeremy Isaacs, NHS England’s national clinical director for dementia, said patients should be able to be diagnosed by a GP, nurse or even care home staff to help reduce waiting times. He argued that patients with clear symptoms should not necessarily have to wait to see a specialist and instead should be diagnosed by any health or care professional “with the right training”.
According to official statistics, after being referred for suspected dementia, 82 per cent of patients wait longer than the target of six weeks for a diagnosis and care plan. Nearly half wait over 18 weeks, with those living in deprived areas waiting the longest.
Speaking last month at the Dementias 2025 conference in London, 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 added that too many people in care homes couldn’t always access the right care and support, due to being undiagnosed.
NHS data shows the quality of dementia care varies in different parts of England. On average, two thirds of people with dementia receive standard care. This means they have a care plan which is reviewed every year.
However in the NHS Black Country region, which covers Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, only half of people with dementia receive this care.
Additionally, although it is recommended that those aged over 65 with late-stage dementia are on the palliative care register, only six 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.
Isaacs said NHS officials in areas with low levels of standard care should: “ask yourself, ‘what are we doing wrong?'”
He also told the crowd that, according to research, 45 per cent of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented, yet two in three people do not know dementia is a preventable condition.
The NHS chief stressed that it was vital more people were taught that they help reduce their dementia risk by limiting alcohol consumption to less than 21 units per week, keeping their BMI under 30, stopping smoking and keeping socially active. Getting help for health conditions like hearing loss, depression, high cholesterol and high blood pressure can also reduce the risk.
“Delaying the onset of dementia for everyone is a necessity so that we can handle demographic ageing,” he said.
According to Alzheimer’s Society, it is currently estimated that 982,000 people are living with dementia in the UK. This is projected to rise to 1.4 million in 2040.