Patients as young as 40 will be routinely checked for early signs of dementia in a pilot scheme announced by the government yesterday.
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, set out plans to make Britain “the best place in the world to live well with dementia” by 2020, revealing that inspectors will judge hospitals on how they look after people with the condition.
More than 850,000 people in the UK suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other severe neurodegenerative memory problems. The number is forecast to rise to more than one million over the next decade.
Only those over the age of 65 are regularly offered the chance to discuss their risk of dementia as part of their NHS health checks, described as a “midlife MOT”.
Under the new proposals this will be extended to all adults aged between 40 and 74 in some areas. If the scheme is a success, it will be extended across England, allowing GPs to suggest ways of combating or warding off early stages of the diseases to those most at risk.
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Personalised measures could include exercise, which is thought to be the best protection against dementia, as well as plans for controlling weight and blood pressure. The second part of the plan is a target for one in ten people diagnosed with dementia to take part in research into ways of better understanding and treating the condition.
Mr Hunt also denounced “unacceptable” variations in quality of care between different areas and said that patients and their relatives would be able to draw “meaningful” comparisons for the first time. The Care Quality Commission will carry out inspections to assess standards and diagnosis rates.
Research by the Alzheimer’s Society suggests that more than nine out of ten people think hospitals are frightening places for people with dementia.
The health secretary pledged that dementia patients in high-dependency care would be seen by a consultant twice each day where it was appropriate.
“A dementia diagnosis can bring fear and heartache, but I want Britain to be the best place in the world to live well with dementia,” he said. “Last parliament, we made massive strides on diagnosis rates and research: the global race is now on to find a cure for dementia and I want the UK to win it.
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“Hospitals can be frightening and confusing places for people with dementia, so our plan will guarantee them safer seven-day hospital care, as well as tackling unacceptable variations in quality across England through transparent Ofsted-style ratings.”
Hilary Evans, the chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said there had been stirrings of “real progress” since the government made the condition one of its top four priorities in 2012.
“There is still much work to do, and [we] welcome this plan, which signals a strong commitment to build on the achievements of recent years,” she said.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said that until recently dementia patients had been “effectively cast out from society” but that was beginning to change.
“Still many people with dementia face stigma and a health and care system that simply does not work for them, resulting in emergency hospital admissions, extended stays and desperate loneliness,” he said.
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“We look forward to leading the continued transformation of society and investment in research so that by 2020 people with dementia get the support they need every day of the year — whether that be at home, in residential care, hospital or the wider community.”