Dementia testing

The Health Secretary has warned today that people are being denied treatment for dementia because too many GPs believe that testing is pointless.

This comes at the same time as the Alzheimer’s Society warned that in some areas as little as one in three sufferers were receiving a formal diagnosis, adding that dementia sufferers faced a ‘postcode lottery’ of diagnosis rates.

The reason for this – it seems – is that many healthcare professionals still believe that there is ‘no point’ in putting people through memory testing and other investigations like scans because there is no effective cure. This is despite the fact that there are drugs which can help stave off some of the conditions for years as well as other drugs which can help reduce symptoms.

At The Private Care Company we believe it is very important that we help and support our clients to get a proper medical diagnosis if we or they think that they are suffering from some mental impairment.

We support our clients through this process via their GP and the local Mental Health Service. We strongly believe our clients can benefit from a diagnosis as they are then able to access appropriate medication and other support. It also gives us as care givers a greater understanding of our client’s condition, thus allowing both our care givers and managers to provide an appropriate care package which understands their specific need.