The three-year local enhanced service - offered to practices by NHS Bristol CCG - also offers practices a a £500 upfront payment for signing up to the LES and a £200 ‘bonus’ payment for practices to increase their diagnosis rates by 5%, or reach a target of 65% of expected diagnoses.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens called recently for a ‘step change’ in diagnosis in order to meet the Government’s objective of ensuring two-thirds of people with dementia have a formal diagnosis by next year.
But GPs have found objections from patients and increased waiting times at memory clinics due to the controversial dementia case-finding DES in England.
A spokesperson for NHS Bristol CCG told Pulse the scheme was set up to support general practice taking on more dementia care from specialists, by providing extra resources for diagnosing patients with uncomplicated dementia and reviewing their care, while complex cases are still referred to memory clinic.
