Alzheimer's diagnosis rates are a 'postcode lottery' - Oldham MP

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams, who serves as Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia, has led an inquiry which found that over 50% of local authorities in England are falling short of the national dementia diagnosis target, leaving hundreds of thousands without a vital dementia diagnosis.

Ms Abrahams cared for her mother Angela, who had Alzheimer’s Disease, and has sought to use her position as a Member of Parliament to help other families and carers experiencing a similar situation.

As part of her Dementia Friendly Oldham campaign, Ms Abrahams held her fifth Annual Memory Walk in Alexandra Park last month to raise awareness about dementia.

Oldham’s diagnosis rate is 72.1%, compared to the national average of 63.2%.

The inquiry revealed where you live has a ‘massive impact' on whether you will get a timely, accurate and high-quality dementia diagnosis.

Although dementia is the UK's biggest killer, over 250,000 people with dementia in England are estimated to be living without a diagnosis - unable to unlock vital treatments, care and support.

While there is currently no cure, there are treatments available, and new drugs coming down the line which could delay progression of the condition.

However, future drugs will require people to get a diagnosis of the disease causing dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, but latest data shows that Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia are still under-diagnosed compared to known prevalence rates.

This month's NHS figures show over a 40-percentage point difference in diagnosis rates between the highest and lowest areas in England.

The inquiry reveals a complex picture of why there is such a disparity, and calls for better data to understand how factors including the availability of brain scanners, transport access, deprivation, rurality and ethnicity are playing a part.

The report, which includes findings from a survey of over 2,100 people affected by dementia in England, suggests transport is a major barrier to diagnosis.

One in four people reported being unable to make appointments because of travel problems, with 78% relying on other people for transport.

To combat this, the report proposes that every Integrated Care System (ICS) in England increases service provision to ensure that people can get a diagnosis closer to home.

Ethnicity was also shown to impact the chance of someone getting a timely dementia diagnosis, with people struggling to access diagnostic assessments in their own language, and with cultural references relevant to them, alongside stigma in communities stopping people coming forward with symptoms.

To address the inequality in people's chance of getting an accurate sub-type dementia diagnosis, the inquiry calls for the earliest possible adoption of blood-based biomarker tests, which would reduce the need for expensive and scarce brain scans.

Alzheimer's Society, along with Alzheimer's Research UK and the NIHR, have launched the Blood Biomarker Challenge - a £4.5m award which will gather the information needed to introduce a blood test for dementia into UK healthcare systems.

This blood test would be a crucial step in speeding up how quickly and how early people are able to get a diagnosis of dementia.

Ms Abrahams said: “All of the evidence shows that timely diagnosis is crucial for people with dementia, particularly in increasing access to drugs like donanemab, a new potential treatment for Alzheimer's Disease.

"But this report shows that at the moment diagnosis rates are simply a postcode lottery.

"It could not be more clear now that we need Integrated Care Boards to introduce strategic local plans to increase access to diagnostic services.

"Likewise, the Government must significantly increase scanning capacity and workforce.”

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