GPs ‘quizzing’ seniors about memory

A UK plan to improve dementia diagnosis rates by quizzing anyone over the age of 75 years about their memory will reportedly put older patients off from visiting their doctor, a concerned group of British GPs has claimed.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has made tackling dementia a ‘personal priority’, wants older people to be checked when they visit the doctor for any reason.

GPs will be paid for asking questions about patients’ memories with anyone who admits to having problems being offered a screening test to see if they are at risk.

However, many GPs fear patients will be “put off” visiting the doctors, even when suffering potentially serious health problems, because they will not want to be diagnosed with the disease.

About 800,000 Britons are being treated for dementia with another 400,000 thought to suffer from it but have not been diagnosed.

According to The Daily Mail, the GPs’ letter reads: “A diagnosis of dementia is a life changing event. The government’s NHS Mandate states: ‘dementia is the illness most feared by people in England over the age of 55 years’.

“There is a danger that older patients will avoid visiting their doctor with health problems, for fear of being given a diagnosis they do not wish to have.”

In a recent interview with ITV’s This Morning program, Prime Minister Cameron asks: “How do we treat people with dementia in the health service, in care homes? In some cases it’s brilliant, in many cases it’s not good enough, and remember, one in four hospital beds are occupied by someone with dementia.

“What more can we do in society to show understanding for people with dementia and make sure we treat them properly?” he adds.

“I think there a lot of people out there who think dementia is just part of ageing, part of getting old. It isn’t. It’s a disease of the brain.

“We are not diagnosing it fast enough; we are not treating it fast enough. But there’s a really big cultural change we need to make. We know cancer is a killer that we want to get on top of. We need to think of dementia in the same way. This is a disease that we need to try and tackle with all our brains and brilliant scientists.”