Abstract
Dementia is a growing challenge for health and social care services. Over 750,000 people are currently living with dementia, a figure predicted to rise to approximately 840,000 by 2026. Of these, over 150,000 live alone in the community. Early diagnosis of dementia is essential to enable patients and carers to make informed choices about their future, and to enable health and carer services to plan provision. This article discusses the clinical signs of dementia, and the screening tests that can be used to diagnose it. It also considers depression, which is often mistaken for dementia, and often occurs alongside it. Community nurses are ideally placed to identify the early signs and symptoms of dementia, and need to make the most of their position to improve support of patients and carers.
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