50,000 dementia cases remained undiagnosed during the lockdown

Monday 26th July 2021 11:50 EDT
 

Alistair Burns, national clinical director for dementia and older people’s mental health at NHS England and NHS Improvement has revealed that about 50,000 dementia cases remained undiagnosed during the lockdown. 

Bruns told the Daily Mail: “There was an effect of 40,000 to 50,000 people who should have been on the dementia register but who were not. We hear a lot about the effect of lockdown on cancer . . . but there is an effect on dementia as well.” 

NHS England said: “It is understandable that during the pandemic some older people felt they were unable to seek help . . . the number of referrals is now increasing.”

Reportedly, one in ten new cases were being missed because referrals were slower at the start of the pandemic. Legend has it that 475,000 people in England have dementia. The number surprisingly fell when the pandemic began and stood at 427,000. Burns has gone on record to say that “GPs did as they were told”. 


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