North Birmingham dementia pilot cuts waits from 31 weeks to 11

A pilot project in north Birmingham has cut the wait for a dementia assessment and treatment for people over 80 by 20 weeks.

Memory Matters brings together GPs, dementia specialists and community organisations to see people sooner and closer to home. In its first six months, 109 dementia assessments were carried out through participating GP practices, and the average wait from referral to treatment fell from 31 weeks to 11.

The time from assessment to treatment has more than halved, from an average of 15 weeks to seven.

How it works

The pilot is led by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust with Alzheimer's Society and the charity Age Connects, and is running in 17 GP practices in the north of the city. Community mental health nurses work alongside GP teams, providing specialist advice and helping people get assessed and supported closer to home. It is funded with £500,000 from NHS Birmingham and Solihull's Fairer Futures Fund, which runs until 2028.

The aim is for people aged 80 and over to be assessed and, where appropriate, diagnosed within 12 weeks. Across Birmingham and Solihull, the average wait is 26 weeks for an assessment, then up to nine weeks more for treatment.

An estimated 13,000 people in Birmingham and Solihull live with dementia, and that is expected to rise to more than 17,000 by 2040.

"Dementia is not part of normal ageing"

Lou Pickering, who leads Memory Matters, said the project was about raising awareness of brain health and reaching communities that tend to come forward late. "People don't understand it's due to a disease and changes to your brain," she said.

Professor Farooq Khan, NHS England's clinical lead for dementia in the Midlands, said memory assessment services could not keep up with referrals, so straightforward cases would be handled in primary care, leaving specialists to focus on the most complex.

One family member said: "I didn't know the pathway existed so it was a huge relief. For the past few months the service and the support we've had has been brilliant."

The Prime Minister's pledge

Speaking at the project's launch at the Alexander Stadium, its leaders welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement of £48m towards the search for a cure for dementia. Andy Burnham has spoken of wanting Britain to be the country that "makes a breakthrough"; his father, Roy, died last month after living with Alzheimer's disease.

"I think it's long overdue, much needed and hopefully will make an impact," Ms Pickering said, adding that dementia had for years lost out on funding to cancer and heart disease. "This is quite a promising commitment but we really need to think about how and where we invest that money."

Professor Khan said: "It's great news for us and we welcome it hugely. It gives hope for the future we will be able to see more complex people in shorter time than we do now."

More information about Memory Matters is on the mental health trust's website.