Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for dementia diagnosis in Solihull constituency.

In Solihull, the waiting time for the Memory Assessment Service (MAS), from point of referral to diagnosis, is seven to eight months.

For the Community Mental Health Trust service in Solihull, the volume of patients meeting the threshold for specific assessment is significantly less than for the MAS Service, and from point of referral to diagnosis the average waiting time is three to four months.

These are indicative estimates and will be influenced by the clinical presentation of each individual case. For example, if the referral requires additional screening to ascertain a type of dementia via an MRI, this will add a further two to three months to the process.

A review is currently underway to understand capacity improvements and develop clear and robust pathways to reduce waiting times.