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Dementia diagnosis needs funding [Herald Express (UK)]
[October 30, 2014]

Dementia diagnosis needs funding [Herald Express (UK)]


(Herald Express (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) IT'S been announced that family doctors in England are to be paid Pounds 55 for each patient they diagnose with dementia, in a six- month Pounds 5m scheme.

Do we need to pay GPs Pounds 55 for every diagnosis? Probably not. Diagnosing dementia is difficult, with a multitude of conditions displaying the same symptoms, from hearing loss to urinary infections.

Rather I believe we need to fund better and easier initial diagnosis. Both Plymouth and Cambridge Universities have developed diagnostic tools that work on an iPad or tablet computer, with the early trials showing good results on patients who show no outward signs of dementia.



Perhaps this is where the money needs to be channelled, with these diagnostic tools in every GP practice and hospital.

Then what do we do when people are diagnosed? We cannot ignore them. Currently in Devon newly diagnosed people are assigned a dementia support worker with initial contact and follow-up telephone calls. Devon Senior Voice, with other partners, also participates in the network of more than 40 memory cafes that provide support.


But is this enough? Should we channel more funding into family support throughout the dementia journey, such as that given by Admiral Nurses, specialist dementia nurses, currently centred in the South East, West Midlands and the North West? However, medical advances in the treatment of dementia in all its forms are moving rapidly towards there being a cure. The World Dementia Council, set up after the G8 Dementia Summit in December 2013, has named 2025 as the target date for a cure.

Therefore as many people as possible need to be diagnosed now. Our current treatments do have a delaying effect, giving sometimes up to 15 years of active life if diagnosed early.

At the end of the journey, what about palliative care, and what about care and support for the family? All these need extra funding.

KEN CRAWFORD Ex-chairman, Devon Senior Voice (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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