A University of Plymouth researcher has provided evidence featured in a major new report highlighting the regional variations in dementia diagnosis across England.
Mr Ian Sherriff BEM, Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia at the University of Plymouth, was among the experts recently invited to address the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Dementia.
Its resulting report, Raising the Barriers, calls for an end to the differences in dementia diagnosis rates facing people depending on where they live in the country.
Mr Sherriff, Chair of the Prime Minister's Rural Dementia Friendly Task and Finish group and an Ambassador of the Alzheimer's Society, is one of the UK's leading figures in dementia care and research.
He gave evidence to the APPG inquiry in March 2023, in particular highlighting the dementia-related challenges facing rural communities.
He told the inquiry that his conversations with GPs in rural regions indicated that the link between GPs and the community teams responsible for dementia diagnosis (memory clinics and community mental health teams) can be poor, with referrals often declined unexpectedly or lost in the system.
He also highlighted the ongoing work of the D-PACT: Dementia PersonAlised Care Team programme, a five-year collaboration between the University of Plymouth and the University of Manchester, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
It aims to develop and evaluate a system for dementia support based in general practice for people living with dementia and their carers.
Mr Sherriff attended the launch of the Raising the Barriers report in the Houses of Parliament in October 2023, along with students from the University.
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