Good evening. We’ve been waiting to hear from the memory clinic to start the process of getting my Dad diagnosed with Dementia. His GP today has said that the memory clinic is full and not taking new patients. The closest city can’t help and we’ve been told he’ll only get help when things get really bad. Without an actual diagnosis though I can’t seem to access any help for him but getting a diagnosis seems impossible. Can anyone help? My mum is in tears.
That's appalling because if it's Alzheimer's then the sooner medication is prescribed the better. Memory clinics don't usually keep people on their books so there should be a constant flow through.
As others have said you can still organise the other things like Attendance Allowance (Age UK are very good at helping with forms) but you do need diagnosis to apply for council tax discount. Most important is to arrange Power of Attorney for finances and health & welfare. It's not difficult and you can download and print the forms.
There's lots of information fact sheets on the Alzheimer's Society site here so maybe printing off some bits for your mum might help her.
To be honest diagnosis didn't do a lot for my mum except start her on medication. She never had any scans or anything else.
However, I would maybe try and see a different GP because that comment about the memory clinic doesn't sound right. It may have a wait for appointments but it can't block them. If you don't get an appointment I'd take it straight to your MP. It's not acceptable. Best of luck and check out the information on the site. It definitely helps to be informed.