There is renewed hope that a key diagnosis target could be reinstated in the United Kingdom's upcoming dementia plan, following reports that it was removed from a draft to save costs. Samantha Jones, the top civil servant at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), stated that the blueprint is not yet finalized and could be altered before its publication later this year.
Conservative MP Joe Robertson expressed concern to the Commons health and social care committee that dementia patients might be denied the same right to timely care as those with heart disease or cancer. He called on Health Secretary James Murray to include the right to a dementia diagnosis within 18 weeks of referral to a memory clinic in the "modern service framework" for dementia and frailty.
"I urge you, please include that 18-week diagnosis target, because it’s Britain’s biggest killer, and it does apply to other big killers," Robertson told the minister.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, warned that the dementia plan would be "worth the paper it is written on" without the target, which had appeared in an earlier version of the document. She suggested that the absence of a firm target could lead to service cutbacks, resulting in lengthy waits for patients, some of whom might progress beyond the point where breakthrough drugs are effective.
Dyson also accused the NHS of treating dementia patients as "second-class citizens" who are often sent home with minimal information. She noted that the framework was intended as a ten-year plan to transform care for the 1 million people in the UK living with the disease but expressed "very little confidence" in its current form due to what she described as "extremely low" ambition.
Jones acknowledged that the framework has involved input from various stakeholders, including Dyson, but confirmed that its final form is still under discussion. She added that the framework is part of a broader strategy that includes drug trials and the appointment of a "dementia czar" to ensure accountability.
The Daily Mail and Alzheimer's Society have partnered on a campaign to defeat dementia, which is responsible for 76,000 deaths annually in the UK and is identified as the country's biggest killer. The campaign aims to increase awareness, promote early diagnosis, boost research, and improve care.
Robertson reiterated his call for the 18-week diagnosis target to be included in the influential document, emphasizing the need for a standardized target for dementia similar to those for cancer and other major diseases. "Without it, services will continue to be poor, inconsistent or non-existent in too many places," he stated. "That means people and families will be left to suffer alone at the hands of this cruel disease."
Dyson commented that the Modern Service Framework represents a significant opportunity to improve dementia care. "We urge the government to show real ambition for the million people affected by dementia today, and for everyone who will be diagnosed in the future," she said. "People with dementia deserve a prompt diagnosis and access to the right treatment, care and support when they can most benefit. That's why we need to see, at a minimum, an 18-week target from referral to diagnosis, with everyone receiving a care plan and appropriate treatment. This is the government's chance to deliver meaningful change across the next decade."
A DHSC spokesperson stated, "Dementia has a devastating impact on people living with the condition and on the families who care for them. We want everyone affected to be able to access high-quality, personalised support."