A record half a million people have now received a dementia diagnosis on the NHS, new figures show.
NHS data published last week show 506,549 people have received a dementia diagnosis, up from 490,163 this time last year.
The milestone comes as Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust launches a new at-home monitoring service – MinderCare – designed to spot signs of changes in health needs and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.
The trust aims to enrol 100 patients by September 2025 as part of a study to better understand the feasibility of offering the service to people living with dementia in North West London.
Dr Jeremy Isaacs, national clinical director for dementia at NHS England, said many of the half a million people diagnosed were living in their own homes with support from family and friends.
‘MinderCare is a great example of the NHS trialling cutting-edge technology to help more people to live safely in their own homes,’ said Dr Isaacs.
The system uses sensors on bed mattresses, household appliances and doorways to help clinical teams track whether patients are still managing daily routines, responding well to medication and showing early signs of infection.
Family members have said the technology gives them peace of mind when leaving their loved one alone and knowing that any deterioration can be spotted quickly so that care plans can be adjusted.
The MinderCare service model has been developed by researchers at the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) Care Research & Technology Centre at Imperial College London in partnership with clinical teams at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
It has been supported by funding from the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre and the not-for-profit medical research charity, LifeArc.
Over the past year, 330,460 patients received a care plan or review on the NHS while 114,447 underwent an NHS medication review.
