Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the dementia diagnosis rate in Penrith and The Border constituency.

In December 2022, the recovery of the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7% was included in the National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance 2023/24. This reinforces the importance of dementia as a key priority for NHS England and provides a clear direction for integrated care boards to support delivery of timely diagnoses within systems.

North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board is undertaking a number of actions to improve the dementia diagnosis rate in Penrith and the borders. This includes ensuring every individual with a diagnosis of dementia is accurately coded on their patient record and streamlining dementia pathways across the area.