National Audit of Dementia: memory assessment service spotlight audit 2021

This report looks at community-based memory assessment services in England and Wales. It found that the average waiting time from referral to diagnosis has increased to 17.7 weeks since 2019, up from 13 weeks. Other key findings include: over 70 per cent of services experienced periods of closure, and over 80 per cent had staff redeployed during 2020; as part of their initial assessment, 61 per cent of patients had a discussion recorded about their eyesight, 58 per cent had a discussion recorded about hearing, and 76 per cent had a falls history discussed and recorded; and CT/MRI scans were requested for 47 per cent of patients, with variation in requests of 0-97.4 per cent of patients per service. This range implies that variation is at service/protocol level, rather than assessed as appropriate in each case.ReportMore detail
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Quality of care and clinical outcomes Source Type: blogs