THE NUMBER of people diagnosed with dementia in Highcliffe has rocketed by more than a third in the past year.

Over the last twelve months the diagnosis of dementia by Highcliffe Medical Centre has gone up by 36 per cent, with the number of care plans being put in place for patients who have been diagnosed with dementia nearly doubling from 129 to 236.

Of the new dementia diagnoses in 2017 the majority of patients were aged between 80 and 89 whilst 35 per cent were aged over 90.

The new figures were arrived at after the medical centre worked with its Patient Participation Group (PPG) to implement iSPACE, an initiative which aims to make primary care more dementia friendly, to achieve Dementia Friendly status.

Initiated by Wessex Academic Health Science Network, iSPACE identifies ways to improve services for those affected by dementia and their carers. Recommendations include appointing a dementia champion within the practice, promoting partnership working, training staff to identify the signs of dementia and allowing them to have more time to care for people who are diagnosed.

Practice staff worked closely with PPG members to organise events which gave patients an opportunity to learn more about local services. These included an Open Day in May 2017 which was attended by the Alzheimer’s Society and the local Highcliffe Dementia Support Group, and a Dementia Friends session in November which will now run monthly.

Rebecca Loveys from Highcliffe Medical Centre said: “With the most elderly patient demographic of a GP surgery in the country, we are really enthusiastic about achieving Dementia Friendly status and see it as a milestone in our continued efforts to provide excellent care and support for those affected by dementia.”