GP Dr Vicky Fakhoury knows that it is hard to persuade someone to ask their doctor if they might have dementia, but it is really important.

Everybody knows how hard it is to talk about dementia. Sometimes people are afraid and don’t want to talk about it, or to go to see the doctor. If you want to persuade them, listen to what the GP is saying in this clip. There are treatments (admittedly not many, and not miraculous) but you need to see the doctor in order to access them at all. A diagnosis also opens the door to some potential allowances that can help the financial situation.
Useful links

How to talk to someone who seems to have signs of dementia

The problem of raising the possibility of dementia with your ageing parent is covered in this blog from the US.

Some hints on how to start the conversation and a useful phone line are here.

It includes the number for the National Dementia Helpline 0300 222 11 22 which is run by the Alzheimer’s Society in England.

The number for the dementia helpline in Scotland run by Alzheimer Scotland is 0808 808 3000.

Reviewed March 1, 2019