How to get someone assessed for dementia

[Hueandcry]

How do I go about this? Elderly parent, increasingly confused & big mood changes. I'm not POA. Can I do anything or is it up to sibling who is POA?

Will they go to the GP with you? I did this with my mum and she got referred to the memory clinic.

The first point of call is to see the GP. They can refer a patient for a brain MRI, which will show changes in the brain and thus lead to a diagnosis

Is your parent willing to see their GP? That should be the first step- my mum's GP did a few tests herself, then a referral to the memory clinic where they saw specialist consultant and nurse . There was also a brain scan.

I had to be a bit sneaky to get mum into the GP appointment though - and she had previously declined support when the practice nurse had made an appointment for her .

If necessary write to their GP and ask them to call them in for an appointment. You can also contact adult social services if necessary.

Age U.K. can give some good advice as well.

Go to the GP and ask for a referral to the memory clinic. It would be up to parent who was POA but it may be too late for that if they are confused and don't have capacity.

Pleas can I ask how you managed to do this?

Just FYI, for us after the GP had referred to the memory clinic it was a 6 month wait (almost to the day) to be seen at the clinic. That was because the GP wrote to the memory clinic a second time and they happen to have a cancellation. I'm sure it varies from area to area but obviously the sooner you can get your parent on the waiting list (if necessary) the better. Especially as there is medication for some types of dementia.

Also, you mention POA. I was just wondering if you realised that there are two different types of POA, one for finances and one for medical/heath needs.

While the elderly parent has capacity, no-one can force them to be assessed. And Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare can’t take effect until the person has lost capacity.

So first try persuade them to see the GP, if they won’t, alert the GP and keep your fingers crossed. Anyone can do that, you don’t have to have PoA. The GP can’t tell you anything about them, but they can take action.

They may be more amenable to consult GP for “memory problems” rather than for “dementia” especially if you can remind her that there are lots of physical problems (low iron, thyroid, UTI) that can affect memory.

I found dementia uk very helpful. They have a nurse staffed phone line.

When I knew my my mum had a health issue but refuse to see her GP because she didn't want to go into hospital, often something simple which would never require hospitalisation; I would call the surgery explain what the problem was. They would then call her to make a routine appointment for blood pressure or something, she would then go, they were brilliant at bringing up her problem which they could then sort out.

I wrote to my mums gp giving bullet points about my concerns - like a diary of the things she was forgetting ie how to use tv remote, missing hair appointments etc. He then invited mum to have her flu jab and did an initial memory test with her. Luckily mum listened to him and was willing to be referred to the hospital. I was able to go with her for the appointments ( scans etc) and be with her for the full memory test which was done at her house.

Can anyone explain the difference between short term memory loss and dementia please? Does one inevitably lead to the other? Sorry to hijack

MIL agreed to let BIL take her for a GP appointment, but it helped that she was always having GP appointments for other things like diabetes and feet. GP did a memory assessment and referred her to the local memory clinic and that was the start point of her dementia diagnosis.

Does your parent want a diagnosis. My Mum doesn't and as she has memory problems (definitely) but still has capacity ( can go to church still, do a food shop, keep the house clean etc) shes doesn't want a diagnosis, which is absolutely fair enough.

I emailed my mums gp explaining my concerns and giving examples
She called me to say it was very common and she would call my mum in to have some o/s routine tests then asks her if she would be willing to discuss other issues. She did say If my mum refused at this stage then there would be nothing she could do
She then did the basic gp test questions and from there she referred her for full test, mri etc
Long waiting list though.....