Care home residents will be proactively assessed for dementia by specialist nurses and healthcare professionals through 14 new pilot schemes rolled out this year.

Under the new dementia drive, GPs will share a list of care home residents without a dementia diagnosis. Staff will then check with the care home to see if those listed have memory problems and residents will be offered a full face-to-face assessment.

The clinician will review a person’s use of medication as well as speaking to the care home resident’s family and friends to determine whether they have dementia.

The 14 pilots spread across the country will be launched from January following a successful trial in Norfolk where over 100 care home residents were given a face-to-face assessment, with 95 people receiving a dementia diagnosis.

Professor Alistair Burns, NHS England’s national clinical director for dementia, said: “The pandemic has naturally had an impact on the number of people diagnosed with dementia, with elderly people seeing fewer people to protect themselves from Covid-19.

“The NHS is determined to ensure those who developed dementia during the pandemic are given a diagnosis as it will open up doors to further support for people and their families who suffer from this heart-breaking disease.

“There are many things we can do in the NHS to care for and support people if they do get a diagnosis, and importantly there is support for their families and carers too.”