Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond has thrown her support behind the Alzheimer’s Society's Dementia Action Week after discovering the diagnosis rate in her constituency is only 63.0%.
Flick went to a Parliamentary reception hosted by the society where she found out about the figure – about average for England - but there are big regional variations.
However, the national ambition for dementia diagnosis is that two-thirds of people should have a formal diagnosis
To highlight regional variations, Alzheimer’s Society has developed a traffic light system showing each Local Authority’s dementia diagnosis status.
Meon Valley is Amber. This means it is not currently meeting the national target of two-thirds of people having a formal diagnosis.
“There are 3181 people in Meon Valley living with dementia, but just 1627 have a diagnosis and this needs to improve,” said Flick.
“As our population continues to age, dementia in all its forms will continue to be a more and more pressing concern and early diagnosis is the key.
“Everyone living with dementia deserves an accurate, timely, and high-quality dementia diagnosis so they can access vital care and support, and plan for their future.”
The charity’s Dementia Action Week was centred around the tagline “It’s not called getting old, it’s called getting ill”.
It is designed to encourage people worried about their own or a loved one’s memory, to seek support in getting a diagnosis using a ‘symptoms checklist’.
This is available on Alzheimer’s Society’s online hub at www.alzheimers.org.uk/memoryloss.
End
