Integrated care systems (ICSs) are enabling the improvement of dementia diagnosis but more needs to be done as the number of people living with dementia is predicted to rise to 1.6 million, health experts say.
Analysis by the King’s Fund found that ICSs are helping to create the conditions for better collaboration between different parts of the health system, which has in turn led to ‘pockets of improvements’ in dementia diagnosis.
However, it also found that more could be done to help the organisations within ICSs focus more on prevention and early diagnosis, and to coordinate training for GPs and other clinicians.
Sally Warren, director of policy at The King’s Fund, said: ‘With an ageing population, it is possible that the landscape of dementia diagnosis and care may change significantly over the coming years, and there is a real risk that some ICSs may lack capacity to plan for the future at the same time as responding to immediate pressures.’
There are 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK, and this number is expected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
Sally Warren added: ‘In the long-term, ICSs will need further support from the Government, NHS England and other national bodies to be able to build capacity for testing new approaches and spreading successful innovations and ways of working for diagnosis and support, as well as to strengthen collaboration between system partners.’
