NHS aims for 18-week dementia diagnosis target as dementia services overhaul begins

The Alzheimer’s Society’s annual conference in London outlined a planned revamp of England’s dementia care under the upcoming Modern Service Framework, to be supervised by a newly appointed dementia tsar. Central to the plan is an 18-week deadline from a patient’s first GP appointment to a detailed dementia diagnosis, a target championed by Dr Richard Oakley and endorsed by Baroness Louise Casey. Speakers likened the initiative to the cancer-care reforms introduced under Tony Blair’s government, noting that current diagnosis times average 3.5 years.

Clinicians such as Dr Helena Ebbs warned that many doctors treat dementia referrals as low priority and that some patients avoid diagnosis altogether. The agenda also called for a single care coordinator to help families navigate services, and mentioned that new antibody drugs are under NICE review, with Health Secretary Yvette Cooper hopeful they will become NHS-funded.