A landmark government plan intended to transform dementia care is being called "worthless" by the head of the Alzheimer's Society after a key target for diagnosing patients within 18 weeks of referral was removed from its draft.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, expressed outrage over the removal of the 18-week diagnosis commitment from the upcoming care blueprint. She stated that this omission could lead to prolonged waiting times, with patients potentially becoming too unwell to benefit from early-stage treatments.
Dyson revealed that an earlier draft of the plan, a ten-year strategy for the estimated one million people living with dementia in the UK, included the 18-week target. However, this has been deleted in a recent revision. She believes the target was removed due to cost concerns, arguing that a plan which requires no financial investment is unlikely to be effective.
"If, over the last 30 years, the test for every intervention on cancer or heart disease had been that it must cost nothing, we would not have seen the success we have seen with those conditions," Dyson stated. She expressed "very little confidence" in the document, citing its apparent "extremely low" ambition.
She also accused the NHS of treating dementia patients as "second-class citizens" who are often sent home with little more than a leaflet. Dyson highlighted that performance data for the NHS rarely includes metrics on dementia, unlike other major diseases, because there is no specific target.
The removal of a diagnosis target, she warned, means there is no urgency, potentially leading to delays of months or years for patients whose conditions worsen, diminishing their chances of receiving effective help. She noted that dementia services are particularly vulnerable to cuts when hospitals face pressure, with staff sometimes redeployed to A&E departments, further delaying diagnoses.
While Dyson acknowledged that the proposed 18-week target was not as ambitious as the 28-day cancer diagnosis target, she stressed that it would have represented a significant step forward. The Alzheimer's Society also proposed a commitment to reduce dementia-related deaths, similar to targets for other major diseases, but this was also reportedly rejected.
The Department of Health and Social Care stated that dementia has a devastating impact and that the government wants all affected individuals to access high-quality, personalized support. The comments come as the Daily Mail and Alzheimer's Society partner on a campaign to defeat dementia, aiming to increase early diagnosis, boost research, and improve care for the condition, which is Britain's biggest killer.