Almost one in four healthcare staff working in NHS dementia services believe they are unable to provide patients with the best level of care, a new survey has revealed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, fewer than a third believe that current diagnostic processes are fit for purpose.<\/p>\n
Workers are \u201cbeing let down by a system that isn\u2019t keeping pace with the scale of the challenge\u201d, Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK warned.<\/p>\n
The charity estimates there are 982,000 people with dementia in the UK, although more than a third do not have a formal diagnosis.<\/p>\n
The poll, commissioned by Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK, included more than 160 health staff, including GPs, nurses and occupational therapists.<\/p>\n
Some 43% told the survey they felt able to give the best level of care to patients, while 23% said they felt unable to do so.<\/p>\n
The majority (91%) of workers who responded said a formal diagnosis benefits patients, while fewer than a third said they think the system is delivering on this.<\/p>\n
Samantha Benham-Hermetz, executive director at Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK, said: \u201cNHS staff working in dementia services do an incredible job in very difficult circumstances, and it\u2019s clear they want to provide the very best care for people with dementia and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut too often, they are being let down by a system that isn\u2019t keeping pace with the scale of the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith nearly a million people living with dementia in the UK, we cannot afford for diagnosis to remain slow, unequal and unfit for purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
The survey also included more than 500 responses from those impacted by dementia, including people waiting for a diagnosis and those caring for loved ones with the illness.<\/p>\n
It found that more than one in three (37%) waited more than a year before seeking help.<\/p>\n
Almost a third (30%) received a diagnosis within six months, 51% within 12 months and 74% within two years.<\/p>\n
Around one in five (22%) waited more than two years for a diagnosis after visiting their GP.<\/p>\n
One respondent, who is supporting their mother to get a dementia diagnosis, said: \u201cMy mum is struggling with day-to-day life, and there is nothing we can do about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t even officially put a name to it. It\u2019s devastating watching what is happening with no answers, no support. We desperately need the reassurance of a diagnosis, so at least we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research was carried out with healthcare consultancy Thiscovery as part of Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK\u2019s new report Seeing the Unseen: Rethinking Dementia Diagnosis.<\/p>\n
In June, Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK also launched its Dementia Unseen campaign, which is calling for GP referrals to specialists to take place with six weeks, with diagnosis and treatment plans in place within 18 weeks.<\/p>\n
Ms Benham-Hermetz added: \u201cDementia diagnosis should be a right, not a waiting game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The survey results come after it emerged British patients are trialling a major new blood test for Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The study will recruit 1,100 people with suspected dementia from diverse geographic, ethnic and economic backgrounds to check how well the test works in the NHS.<\/p>\n
Experts hope to have answers within three years.<\/p>\n
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: \u201cThrough our Plan for Change, we are getting the NHS back on its feet, creating a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Government remains committed to increasing diagnosis rates, ensuring people can access any licensed and Nice-recommended treatment and support they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of the 10 Year Health Plan, we will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia, to help address variations in diagnosis rates, while continuing to fund high-quality research into dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost one in four healthcare staff working in NHS dementia services believe they are unable to provide patients…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[78350,78348,49,48,10237,78351,78349,84,78352,10569],"class_list":["post-146826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-alzheimers-research","tag-alzheimers-research-uk","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dementia","tag-dementia-diagnosis","tag-formal-diagnosis","tag-health","tag-level-of-care","tag-patients"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}