Decision-making guide for GPs

The Young Dementia Network has developed a Decision-making guide for GPs, endorsed by the Royal College of GPs, to aid the recognition of the symptoms of dementia in younger people.

About the Decision-making guide for GPs

The Young Dementia Network worked with GPs to create this guide because accurate and timely diagnosis is an essential part of living as well as possible with young onset dementia.

Receiving a diagnosis is a first step towards accessing treatment, support, information and advice to help you and your family adjust to life with dementia.  But unfortunately, it currently takes twice as long – on average 4.4 years – for a younger person to receive a diagnosis as it does an older person.

By creating a guide for GPs we aim to raise awareness of young onset dementia and the wide range of issues someone may experience which prompts a visit to their doctor. Because younger people are more likely to have a rarer form of dementia, those issues can include much more than memory loss.

A pilot version of the Decision-making guide was made available for GPs to use and comment on from April-July 2017. We also received feedback from people living with young onset dementia, their family and other professionals who have an interest in the guide. We had over 70 responses and this feedback was used to develop the guide to its final stage.

Since then thousands of copies of the guide have been downloaded from our website.

Who was involved in creating the Decision-making guide for GPs?

We would like to thank the following for their contribution:

  • Young Dementia Network Steering Group and workstream members
  • Rare Dementia Support group members
  • YoungDementia UK service members
  • The Forget-Me-Nots, Kent group members
  • Dr Jill Rasmussen, Clinical Lead Dementia, and colleagues at the Royal College of GPs
  • Dr Martin Thornton
  • Dr John West
  • Dr Gill Scott
  • Lynne Ramsey
  • Ashfield Digital & Creative for their support in designing the tool