NHS data shows that 487,432 people in England were living with diagnosed dementia in June 2024 — the highest number on record.  

In 2022, NHS England announced 14 pilot schemes in which specialist nurses and other healthcare professionals proactively assessed care home residents for dementia. Yet the June 2024 figures show that the NHS diagnosed just 65.0 per cent of those believed to live with dementia in England.

“Getting a diagnosis of dementia is the first step in supporting people, with a wide range of NHS services able to help,” says Dr Jeremy Isaacs, national clinical director for dementia, NHS England.

“NHS staff have worked hard to recover services [since the Covid-19 pandemic] with the number of people with a diagnosis rising significantly over the last year, and now at a record level, but there is more work to be done.”

The latest figures also show that 86,434 people with diagnosed dementia had a medication review during the previous 12 months, up from 77,112 in June 2023.