Summary
A survey of GPs, commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Society, indicates that it is felt there is often inadequate post diagnosis support for people with dementia (and their families and carers) from the NHS and social services in the UK. Certain commentators from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have suggested that some doctors could be beginning to question whether there is any advantage in early diagnosis until the situation improves.
The dementia case finding debate has again been raised, this time on the practical grounds that patients’ wellbeing cannot be guaranteed to be improved by being given a diagnosis. (Other caveats have been discussed elsewhere).
The policy momentum towards the aim of increasing dementia diagnosis rates could be diminished if local services are unable to cope with demand.
Reference
Dementia: GPs say patchy services fail patients. London: BBC Health News, July 6th 2015.
This relates to:
Reference
Dementia care onus falls on families, say GPs. London: Alzheimer’s Society, July 6th 2015.
If some patients are forced to rely on family, friends and unpaid carers due to gaps in services and they cannot afford them, see link below as the Social Enterprise business helps and support as much as it can.
http://www.mysosfamily.com/our-pledge