Some 300,000 sufferers of dementia are ‘undiagnosed’

MORE than 300,000 people are living with undiagnosed dementia, research shows, amid warnings that too little is being done to ensure cases are spotted.

Analysis of official figures suggests that about four in 10 cases of conditions such as Alzheimer’s are not recorded, with a fall in diagnosis rates since Covid.

Under David Cameron, the Government set a target for 67 per cent of people with conditions such as Alzheimer’s to receive a diagnosis. This was achieved until the pandemic but now less than 60 per cent of cases are being detected, latest data show. Researchers said that the analysis suggested 325,862 people living in England who have dementia were yet to be diagnosed.

The study by Future Health, a healthcare policy researcher, compares the 430,857 people registered with the condition in England with estimated prevalence rates, which suggest a total of 756,719 cases. Experts have warned difficulties in accessing GPS and memory clinics since the first lockdown have led to a backlog of cases with some patients waiting up to a year for a diagnosis.

Today Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, is expected to promise to make dementia care a priority, with a new strategy expected later this year.

The new research shows a postcode lottery in diagnosis rates, with those in the Midlands least likely to be diagnosed with dementia. It also shows sharp differences between neighbouring areas, with 48 per cent of estimated dementia patients diagnosed in Stafford and Surrounds clinical commissioning group, compared with 83 per cent in Stoke-on-trent. It follows warnings that one in four people with dementia have symptoms for more than two years before they get a diagnosis.

Yesterday a study found that mistaking signs of Alzheimer’s for signs of old age, denial and long waiting times to see a specialist are among the chief reasons for the delays. Richard Sloggett, founder of Future Health and a former special adviser in the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “The pandemic has set back the progress made on dementia diagnosis rates.” Fiona Carragher, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said the report “evidences the need to address regional and health disparities”.