Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide funding for specialist dementia leads within GP surgeries.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline NG97 recommends that individuals should be referred to a specialist dementia diagnostic service, such as a memory clinic or community old age psychiatry service, if reversible causes of cognitive decline have been investigated and dementia is still suspected.

The Dementia Care Pathway: Full implementation guidance emphasises the need to ensure general practitioners (GPs) are supported in providing dementia diagnosis with education and training programmes, such as Dementia Revealed: What Primary Care Needs to Know, a resource for GPs and practice nurses who have no previous experience of diagnosing and treating dementia.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.