Over half of local authorities in England are failing to meet dementia diagnosis targets

Location impacts a patient's dementia diagnosis

Over 50% of local authorities in England are falling short of the national dementia diagnosis target leaving hundreds of thousands without a vital dementia diagnosis. 

This comes as an inquiry from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on dementia revealed where you live has a ‘massive impact’ on whether you will get a timely, accurate and high-quality dementia diagnosis. 

The group of cross-party MPs and Alzheimer’s Society are calling for a levelling up of diagnosis rates – as well as an urgent improvement in the speed and accuracy of dementia diagnosis, particularly in rural and ethnically-diverse areas. 

A huge variation in regional diagnosis rates

NHS figures show over a 40-percentage point difference in diagnosis rates between the highest and lowest areas in England.

The inquiry, led by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams and Conservative Peer Baroness Angela Browning, reveals a complex picture of why there is such a disparity, and calls for better data to understand how factors including the availability of brain scanners, transport access, deprivation, rurality and ethnicity are playing a part.

Transport and ethnicity shown to be barriers to a dementia diagnosis 

Findings from over 2,100 people affected by dementia in England, suggests transport is a major barrier to diagnosis.

One in four people reported being unable to make appointments because of travel problems, with 78% relying on other people for transport. To combat this, the report proposes that every Integrated Care System (ICS) in England increases service provision to ensure that people can get a diagnosis closer to home. 

Ethnicity was also shown to impact the chance of someone getting a timely dementia diagnosis, with people struggling to access diagnostic assessments in their own language, and with cultural references relevant to them, alongside stigma in communities stopping people coming forward with symptoms.

Dr Karan Jutlla, Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador and Dementia Lead for the University of Wolverhampton, said:

When we’re trying to understand the challenges ethnic communities face getting a dementia diagnosis, we need to look behind the headline figures.

From my work I know very, very, very few people from these communities are presenting themselves to services. To be able to quantify this we need to start recording the ethnicity of people who do come forward.

The right healthcare systems can improve referral rates

Encouragingly, the inquiry found that ICSs with the right healthcare systems in place can overcome factors like deprivation and rurality.

For instance, in rural Somerset, which has traditionally had low dementia diagnosis rates, there has been a 30% increase in referrals per month since a new service was adopted last year, doubling the number of Dementia Support Workers in the county.
 

Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing at Alzheimer’s Society, said: 

Today’s report shows pockets of excellence in diagnosis, and areas bucking the trend through innovation.

Improvement is possible, but we need more tailored services across the country, and better local planning by Integrated Care Systems to help bridge the gap and reach underserved communities. 
 

Blood Biomarker Challenge launched to gather dementia blood test information

To address the inequality in people’s chance of getting an accurate sub-type dementia diagnosis, the inquiry calls for the earliest possible adoption of blood-based biomarker tests, which would reduce the need for expensive and scarce brain scans. 

Alzheimer’s Society, along with Alzheimer’s Research UK and the NIHR, have launched the Blood Biomarker Challenge - a £4.5m award which will gather the information needed to introduce a blood test for dementia into UK healthcare systems. This blood test would be a crucial step in speeding up how quickly and how early people are able to get a diagnosis of dementia.