Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of dementia care in Surrey Heath constituency.

Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

NHS Frimley ICB has been working with Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP) to ensure that FHFT geriatricians can refer patients directly into Surrey Heath memory clinics within SABP rather than necessarily having to go through general practitioners to request referrals. This process should bring about more rapid assessments and diagnoses for those patients suspected of having dementia. The Standard Operating Procedures of the Surrey Health Older Adults Mental Health Service, which includes the Memory Clinics, have also been reviewed and found to meet the requirements of facilitating appropriate referral routes and service inclusion criteria.

Improvement work is also in progress to enhance dementia training and access to specialist support for staff on the SABP older adult mental health ward dealing with dementia at The Meadows Unit.

In addition, NHS Frimley has a contract in place with Younger People with Dementia, a charity established to provide support services throughout the working week to people diagnosed with dementia under 65 years old. Though the Surrey Heath Better Care Fund, NHS Frimley ICB has also continued to provide dementia advisors, via the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Advisor Service, for all those who have been diagnosed with dementia.