One year wait for memory clinic.

[Margery80]

Mymum is 90 years old and lives independently In Northern Ireland. I have noticed over the last year or so that her memory isn't what is used to be. She lives about 3 hours away from me, and I recently accompanied her to a gp appointment, were she completed a memory test. She scored 18/30. The passmark is 26. So she either has mild or moderate memory impairment. The gp has referred her to a memory clinic but there is a 1 year wait, and did not offer any advice beyond this.

Should i be pursuing a private memory clinic? My concern is that there has been no concrete diagnosis, so are potentially missing out on treatment options which could be too late a year down the road?

Has anyone thoughts on this?

Have they done a blood test? Sometimes, not always , dementia shows up in the blood.

Based on our experience, I would consider the private route. My DM (15 years younger) was referred after concerns from us and her, and a basic GP memory test. She had to wait 9 months for an appointment, by which time her memory had worsened significantly. When she had the appointment, in spite of getting a score consistent with moderate dementia, and the fact that her memory problems are significantly impacting her life (eg she struggles to cook now and has massively withdrawn socially), they diagnosed MCI without any further tests (eg a brain scan). They've referred her to some sort of 'good memory' centre, which I think is more social community support than medical, and three months later she's heard nothing about that either. No mention of whether they'll be repeating the memory tests in future, or when. Meanwhile she's just trundling on, getting gradually worse.

By contrast, another family member who went private with his concerns had a consultant appointment, DAT scan, diagnosis and started medication within six weeks.