Engage with general practices to promote recognition of dementia among current patients. For example, practices could introduce local protocols to introduce questions about memory functioning in scheduled visits and routine health checks and investigations for people over 65 years. These might include
- annual checks for over-65s with long term conditions
- annual ‘flu clinic health questionnaires
- over -75 health checks
- adults with Downs Syndrome
- patients with cardiovascular conditions and stroke
- patients with Huntingdon’s Disease or Parkinson’s Disease.
Encourage general practices to be alert to those cases involving
- falls
- older patients failing to attend appointments
- older patients failing to collect dispensed medications
- cases where a previous initial assessment for dementia has been undertaken
- patients in community hospitals
- references to confusion, depression, problems thinking, reasoning, struggling to follow conversations, forgetfulness, and other changes in mood and cognition.