Mark Isherwood
North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to respond to shocking figures which reveal that Wales has the lowest national dementia diagnosis rate in the UK.
Speaking in this week’s Business Statement, Mr Isherwood called for a Statement on the Welsh Government’s response to the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Right to Know’ campaign.
He said: “It said that, of the 45,500 people in Wales with dementia, only 38.8% received a formal diagnosis. Over the last four years, diagnosis rates in Wales have increased by just 2.8% compared with 8.7% in England. Wales has the lowest national diagnosis rate in the UK. Those figures come from the Alzheimer’s Society, not from any other source.”
This means those who are not formally diagnosed do not have access to potential treatments that may ease some symptoms of the disease and they cannot access the information and support they need to come to terms with their condition.
The Minister replied: “I do not think that we will be making a Statement in Government time.”
The Alzheimer’s Society Right to Know campaign is aimed at increasing the number of people who receive a dementia diagnosis and ensuring that everyone is fully supported afterwards.
It is calling for all areas across the UK to reach a minimum 66% diagnosis rate by 2017 with ambitions in place to reach 75%.
Mr Isherwood added: “Well over half of the people living with dementia in Wales ‘slip through the net’ and are left to struggle alone. Many who are brave enough to see the GP can be misdiagnosed and some people who develop dementia later once already in care homes can simply been written off as too old to diagnose and support.
“If more people were diagnosed, they and their families would be able to understand their new symptoms and behaviour and plan for the future whilst still able to do so.”
