Dementia diagnosis in Cumbria now four times faster thanks to ‘Virtual Clinics’

Dementia diagnosis in Cumbria is now four times faster thanks to ‘Virtual Clinics’.

The referral to diagnosis process at Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been shortened by nurses carrying out high level assessments on patients and then presenting the results to an expert panel who then decide the diagnosis.

Previously patients who were referred to the team by their GPs went through a long diagnosis process which included being seen initially by a mental health nurse for assessment, tests and brain scans requested, then sometimes a substantial wait for a follow up 45 minute appointment with a Psychiatrist.

In the Virtual Clinics new referrals are screened, the patient is then seen for a full assessment by a nurse including elements previously done by a Psychiatrist. A brain scan is then requested, together with other assessments with the person and their family.

“The ‘virtual’ part is next; the nurse will present the case – without the patient, to the Psychiatrist and Memory Matters team, so all the experts sit together and conclude a diagnosis.