Publication, Part of Primary Care Dementia Data
Primary Care Dementia Data, December 2023
Official statistics
Reduced counts - Dementia type breakdowns
We have identified an issue whereby the counts of patients within the dementia type breakdowns from December 2023 to March 2024 are lower than expected due to an error whereby changes to the service for 2024/25 were implemented early therefore where patients who have a coded diagnosis of Lewy body dementia, Frontotemporal dementia or inconclusive dementia types would previously have been captured within the 'Other' dementia type breakdown, between December 2023 and March 2024 they were only captured in the total count of patients with dementia, and not in any of the dementia type breakdowns. This has led to a reduction of ~10,000 patients with a dementia type breakdown for each of the affected months.
This caveat has been added to the summary file; not other changes have been made.
This issue will be rectified from April 2024 onwards. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
8 May 2024 12:00 PM
Summary
NHS England collect and publish data about people with dementia at each GP practice in England, to enable NHS GPs and commissioners to make informed choices about how to plan their dementia services around patients’ needs.
The publication includes the rate of dementia diagnosis. As not everyone with dementia has a formal diagnosis, this statistic compares the number of people thought to have dementia with the number of people diagnosed with dementia, aged 65 and over. Where current monthly data for a GP practice is unavailable, the most recent data available are used (up to a maximum of 6 months).
Prior to October 2022, dementia data was collected via the dementia data core contract service and published as the "Recorded Dementia Diagnoses" series. The data in these two publication series are not comparable. This is due to the retrospective application of codes to patient records and changes in patient registration, as well as differences in coverage and the specification of several the counts.
Refer to the ‘Related Links’ for the supporting information page where details on these changes can be found.
Key Facts
Recorded dementia diagnosis
479,540 patients had a recorded diagnosis of dementia on 31 December 2023, a decrease of 112 patients since 30 November 2023.
Diagnosis rate in those aged 65 and over
64.6% of patients aged 65 or over who are estimated to have dementia, had a recorded diagnosis of dementia on 31 December 2023, a decrease from 64.7% on 30 November 2023.
Medication reviews
189,524 (39.5%) of those with a recorded diagnosis of dementia on 31 December 2023 had their medication reviewed in the preceding 12 months.
Resources
Last edited: 8 May 2024 11:25 am