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Last modified on Sat 1 May 2021 11.18 EDT
Experts have warned of backlogs of undiagnosed dementia cases and worsening standards of care after official figures revealed a collapse in assessing and monitoring patients in England during the pandemic.
NHS data shows the number of people who were assessed for dementia has fallen to less than half the level before the pandemic – 10,535 in February 2021 compared to 23,392 in February 2020.
In that time, the number of people receiving an initial memory assessment fell by two-thirds, while the number of referrals to memory clinics – which help diagnose dementia – fell by 42%.
Partly as a result, the total number of patients aged over 65 with a dementia diagnosis fell by just over 43,000 – a drop of 10%.