Today, the Daily Mail launched its Christmas appeal to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society using figures exclusively obtained by GP as the basis for the campaign.
These figures, which we first published in October, showed that one in four PCTs had closed or reduced dementia services in the past three years and less than half have early detection services in place. This is despite the fact that 98 per cent claimed that dementia care was one of their main priorities. The findings were revealed after GP obtained data from 57 PCTs across England under the Freedom of Information Act.
These statistics are shocking and astonishing, particularly given the grim predictions about the number of people who will develop dementia in the coming years.
Dementia is a terrible condition that slowly robs people of themselves and is agonising for family members. GPs, faced with patients and carers who are struggling to cope, have little option in terms of where to refer them because, as our figures show, the services are simply not there. It is difficult, and in some cases impossible, for them to get their patients the help that they need.
It is not good enough for PCTs to claim that their older peoples services or mental health services can provide such specialist care. As the Alzheimer's Society points out, dementia sufferers have very specific needs that require regular support.
But its not just specialist services that PCTs are cutting back. Over the past few years, GP's sister title Independent Nurse has regularly reported on cuts to district and community nursing teams. These are often the very staff that can help patients with dementia remain at home with their families for longer and provide much needed support to carers.
In October, when GP first ran the story on dementia service cutbacks, we also reported that the DoH was planning to release the first national dementia strategy in November. This has not materialised and, as yet, there is no sign of when it will be unveiled.
With rates of dementia likely to increase dramatically over the next decade it is vital that we start planning for the future and ensure the NHS can meet both current and future need - at present it is clearly unable to do either. The DoH's new strategy, backed by adequate funding and guidance and support for frontline staff and PCTs, would be a good place to start - let's hope that the department manages to publish it some time soon.