Health secretary Jeremy Hunt pledges quicker diagnosis for dementia

Jeremy Hunt stated that it was his ‘mission to make this country the greatest location in the world to get a diagnosis’. Photograph: Richard Gardner/REX

The well being secretary Jeremy Hunt has pledged considerably more rapidly diagnosis times for people with suspected dementia and says he wants Britain to be a leader in both diagnosis and the search for a cure.

Those who see their medical doctor with concerns about their memory and imagined processes will by March be diagnosed inside of six weeks rather than six months, as is at present the case in some spots, explained Hunt. Only half of these with dementia now have a diagnosis at all – a figure he wants to rise to 66%.

At the moment, the wait for a diagnosis is no a lot more than 6 weeks in about 75% of the nation, but there are locations in which it can be numerous months. Some medical professionals truly feel a diagnosis is not extremely valuable, simply because there are few treatment options for the condition and the drugs that exist do not support everybody.

But, mentioned Hunt at an worldwide summit in Paris, the lengthy uncertainty brought on individuals and their families pressure and anxiousness. Knowing the reality inside of six weeks would allow men and women to get entry to medicines which can at times delay the progression of the illness. It would also enable households to prepare for the long term.

“How we reply to dementia is the litmus test of no matter whether we can face up to the challenge of an ageing population, and do so in a way which makes it possible for compassion and dignity.

“Dementia can be a horrific and heartbreaking condition, but it is my mission as well being secretary to make this nation the best spot in the world to get a dementia diagnosis, as properly as a global leader in the fight to uncover a cure,” said Hunt in an interview with the Everyday Telegraph.

1 in three people will develop dementia in later lifestyle. In December, the government convened a G8 dementia summit in London, which concluded with a pledge to discover a cure or remedy by 2025 – which numerous would believe an ambitious purpose. The United kingdom promised to double its investigation funding to £132m by that yr.

In Paris, the well being secretary also mentioned that Marks &amp Spencer, Argos, Homebase and Lloyds Banking Group will train a lot more than 120,000 employees to assist and help consumers with dementia.

David Cameron will on Friday announce a Globe Dementia Council headed by a World Dementia Envoy. Dr Dennis Gillings, an expert in clinical study trials, is to stimulate investigation.

Labour explained the prime minister was right to target on dementia, but named for him to do far more for those afflicted with the illness proper now.

“£2.7bn has been cut from council care budgets underneath this government, hitting the top quality of daily life of hundred of thousands of individuals with dementia and their households. This isn’t very good for them, and is a false economic climate as an escalating amount of elderly people with dementia are ending up in hospitals or care houses when they don’t want to,” said Liz Kendall MP, Labour’s shadow minister for Care and Older People.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt pledges quicker diagnosis for dementia