Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS services are able to accurately diagnose all the subgroups of dementia.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to encourage memory assessment services to provide safe and person-centred assessment and diagnosis, via remote methods or in face-to-face consultations as appropriate for all types of dementia diagnoses. Webinars and guidance have been provided to support evolving best practice and an approach to diagnosis that supports patient choice. The ‘Memory Service Assessments: A New Way of Working’ guidance specifically sets out considerations for subtyping a diagnosis of dementia as part of the diagnostic pathway and is available at the following link:

http://www.yhscn.nhs.uk/media/PDFs/mhdn/Dementia/Covid 19/MAS/MSA - A New Way of Working revised Dec 2020.pdf