The removal of national targets for dementia diagnosis in England has raised concerns among experts, who warn that the shift could undermine care for a condition affecting hundreds of thousands of older adults. The change, announced by NHS England, comes amid calls for dementia to remain a health priority alongside other serious illnesses such as cancer and childhood diseases.
Dementia diagnosis targets, previously established to ensure timely detection and referral, have been officially scrapped. NHS England stated that while the formal targets have been dropped, the government remains committed to achieving a national diagnosis rate of 66.7 percent. The health service emphasized that local NHS organizations will now have greater autonomy to tailor services to the needs of their communities.
Critics, including Alzheimer’s Society and several leading psychiatrists, argue that removing clear diagnostic benchmarks risks delaying or preventing accurate dementia diagnoses. According to Alzheimer’s Society, one in four patients with dementia currently waits two years or longer for a diagnosis. The standard diagnostic process typically begins when patients or their families approach a general practitioner with concerns about symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, or difficulties with daily tasks. After initial assessments and exclusion of other causes, patients are referred to specialists for further evaluation, which may include cognitive testing and MRI scans.
Professor Sam Green expressed concern that without specific targets, some medical practitioners might attribute dementia symptoms to aging or depression rather than pursuing thorough diagnosis. He shared examples of elderly individuals prematurely labeled with dementia, noting that underlying conditions like depression may be missed without proper assessment. He criticized the change as reflecting ageism and called on the dementia tsar to advocate for reinstating diagnostic goals.
Rob Howard, professor of old-age psychiatry at University College London, acknowledged that previous dementia tsars, such as Alistair Burns, played a critical role in increasing diagnosis rates. Howard suggested that the policy shift reflects broader societal challenges in prioritizing the health of older people. “Dementia is a harder nut to crack than cancer in terms of developing new treatments,” he said, adding that the condition has never enjoyed equivalent public or political profile.
Gill Livingston, also a professor of psychiatry specializing in older adults at University College London, praised past dementia initiatives for improving detection, especially in hospital settings. However, she argued that the current tsar’s limited hours might restrict the impact of leadership needed to address dementia’s growing burden.
In response, dementia tsar Dr. Jeremy Isaacs highlighted progress in diagnosing a record number of dementia cases and referrals made to memory services, which reached over 224,000 in the past year. He also underscored ongoing efforts to expand access to therapeutic support, carer education, medication, and emerging treatments.
As the UK population ages and dementia prevalence rises, experts warn that adequate diagnosis and care remain essential, even as NHS England moves away from centrally mandated targets. The debate continues over how best to balance national ambitions with local flexibility in managing one of the country’s most pressing health challenges.