Six in ten dementia sufferers not diagnosed

Six out of ten people with dementia are undiagnosed, it has been found, as MPs launch an investigation into how to pick up missed patients.

The majority of people with the condition have not been diagnosed meaning they are missing out on vital support and treatment, MPs said.

Despite improvements in understanding of dementia, diagnosis rates have only increased by two per cent to reach 43 per cent in the last year.

Now the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia is launching an inquiry into how to improve diagnosis rates.

GPs do not feel equipped to make a diagnosis of dementia and few people understand the differences between normal signs of ageing and signs of dementia.

Dementia affects 750,000 people in Britain and is set to hit one million by 2021 and 1.7m by 2050.

It costs the economy £20bn and is one of the major causes of disability later in life.

Baroness Sally Greengross, chairman of the APPG, said: “Almost 60 per cent of people with dementia are struggling in the dark without a diagnosis. Because their condition has not been recognised they are being denied vital support, information and possible treatments.

“This can’t carry on. We need to find out why this is happening and open the door to a better life for people with dementia across the UK.”

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society which provides the secretariat for the APPG, said: “Although diagnosis rates are increasing, the stark reality is that they are not improving fast enough.

“Only by working out the reasons for these unacceptably low levels can we start to make a difference.

“Early diagnosis and early support not only helps a person live better day to day but also stops them reaching crisis point. This brings the additional benefit of saving the NHS and social care system many millions of pounds a year.”

The investigation aims to uncover why diagnosis might not be happening, why diagnosis rates differ around the country, the financial benefits of an early diagnosis and what is needed to support people following a diagnosis.

A survey carried out by Alzheimer’s Society found that one in five GPs do not feel well informed about the treatment and care available to patients with dementia.

Family doctors in London and Wales were more likely to not feel well informed than other parts of the UK.

Other research by the Department of Health found that only around a third of adults aged over 40 understand the differences between normal signs of ageing and signs of dementia.

Early symptoms of dementia include, struggling to remember recent events, but easily recalling things that happened in the past; struggling to follow conversations or programmes on TV; forgetting the names of friends or everyday objects; repeating things or losing the thread of what’s being said; having problems thinking or reasoning; feeling anxious, depressed or angry about memory loss and feeling confused even when in a familiar environment.