Wigan dementia sufferers miss out on crucial care reviews

People living with dementia in Wigan missed out on potentially vital care reviews they were entitled to last year, figures suggest.
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NHS guidance states dementia patients’ mental and physical wellbeing should be re-assessed in a face-to-face review every 12 months, as they are more likely to suffer from depression and less likely to report physical problems.

Charity Alzheimer’s Society warned outdated care plans may increase the chances of those living with dementia being rushed to hospital for issues that could have been prevented with good care, such as falls and infections.

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Figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities show 1,071 dementia patients in the NHS Wigan Borough CCG area had their care plan reassessed in the year to March – 44 per cent of those with a diagnosis.

Dr Tim DaltonDr Tim Dalton
Dr Tim Dalton

This was a sharp drop from 2019-20, when 78 per cent of patients received a dementia care review.

Dr Tim Dalton, local GP and chair of NHS Wigan Borough CCG, said: “Dementia care has long been one of our priorities and we were very proud of making sure that local residents with dementia got regular health checks.

“During the pandemic unfortunately this has been more difficult, and whilst many health checks for people with dementia have continued, sometimes through digital appointments where it is appropriate, the number did drop. We are working closely with Dementia United as part of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and our local mental health providers, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT, to address the waiting lists and to make sure that people with dementia are getting diagnosed so they can get the help that they need.

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“Additional funding has been provided across Greater Manchester to support this work and waiting times are already reducing.

The percentage of dementia patients to have their care reassessed plummeted from 78 to 44 per centThe percentage of dementia patients to have their care reassessed plummeted from 78 to 44 per cent
The percentage of dementia patients to have their care reassessed plummeted from 78 to 44 per cent

“We hope that in the next year we will see our dementia diagnosis numbers and health check figures continue to rise.”

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“During lockdowns, the team were able to maintain vital contact with service users and their families, and continued to deliver excellent and safe care, by rapidly transitioning to virtual appointments in line with national guidelines.

“As with many other NHS services, the service did unfortunately accrue a waiting list due to COVID-related issues.

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“However, over the last few months, the service has focused attention on reducing the waiting list, and due to the hard work and dedication of LLAMS staff and strong leadership from the team managers, service users are now being seen within the nationally recommended target response time.”

Across England, the proportion of those receiving a care review dropped dramatically, from 75 in 2019-20 to 40 per cent last year.

Gavin Terry, head of policy at the Alzheimer’s Society said: “This drastic drop in the number of people with dementia getting their care plans reviewed over the past two years is yet more evidence of just how badly hit they have been by the Covid pandemic.

“Despite the best efforts of our brilliant NHS and care staff, people with dementia have seen their routine care continually paused and people with dementia had the highest death rate from Covid.”

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The figures also show that across England, the rate of people living with a dementia diagnosis has also dropped, from 0.79 per cent of those registered with a GP in 2019-20, to 0.71 per cent in 2020-21.

The prevalence among people of all ages across Wigan was 0.73 per cent in 2020-21, lower than 0.83 per cent in 2019-20.

The Alzheimer’s Society is calling on the Government to increase funding to decrease the backlog of people waiting for a formal diagnosis.

Mr Terry said: “We know the pandemic has prevented tens of thousands of people from getting an all-important dementia diagnosis.

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“We’re calling for urgent action from the Government, so people can access the vital support and treatments a diagnosis brings.”

The Government said it was investing £375m for neurodegenerative disease research – including for dementia – over the next five years.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We want a society where every person with dementia, and their families and carers, receive high quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to end of life.

“Since the start of the pandemic we have committed over £6bn to councils to support people and tackle the impact of Covid-19 on their services, including adult social care. We have also invested an additional £5.4 billon over the next three years to begin a comprehensive reform programme.”

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