The dementia diagnosis rate in Havering needs to improve amid a push for better care, the council says.

More than 3,100 people in Havering may have dementia, according to a joint report published by Havering Council and the NHS.

However, just 1,757 have been diagnosed. The council says its diagnosis rate is below the national target of 67 per cent, and needs to detect a further 335 cases.

Gillian Ford, deputy leader of the council, said dementia had become the “most prevalent [health] issue” nationally due to an “ageing population”.

Havering has the largest population of elderly people in north east London and one of the largest in Greater London. More than 18pc of the population is aged over 65.

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Over the past five years, memory clinics have seen increasing demand. The number of referrals is projected to grow from 550 in 2019 to more than 1,000 by the end of 2024.

Dementia is an umbrella term that covers brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, which impairs people’s memory; vascular dementia, which affects motor skills and judgement; and frontotemporal dementia, which can cause changes in people’s personalities.

As part of a new joint strategy, presented to councillors on October 15, the council and NHS say they will implement new schemes to reduce people’s risks of developing dementia, improve the quality of care, and better support families.

The draft strategy, which will be in place until 2029, includes provisions to develop new health records, increase the number of carers in the borough, put together “more robust” health plans for carers and produce a programme of leisure activities for people with dementia.

Members of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust’s (BHRUT) audiology team will work to increase the number of people taking hearing tests and “better support those with hearing loss,” as it can be a "key risk factor" for developing dementia.

High cholesterol and vision loss were also recognised as indicators of dementia in July 2024, which the council will also include in its awareness campaigns.

The council will also look to implement the Herbert Protocol with police.

The aim is to ensure people with dementia who wander away or get lost can be identified and taken back home “as quickly and seamlessly as possible”.

Under the protocol, carers and relatives supply officers with information such as the person’s mobile number, places they have been found before and a recent photograph.

Maurice Sanomi, a GP in the borough who is leading the strategy, said the team was “conscious of the pressures experienced across the entire system” but remained “hopeful the changes in government policy and increasing investment in dementia care will help us deliver our strategy in Havering”.

He continued: “We therefore need all hands to be on deck to deliver on the ambitions set out within this strategy.”

He added that it would “not be easy", but was doable.

Looking ahead, the council said it aims to eventually introduce yearly checks for over-65s, improve signage in public places and commission services to deal with early on-set dementia.