Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 067-2026
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.
You asked:
1. Request for attachments
a. Any local service models or pathway adaptations that influence capacity, demand, or access to imaging and biomarkers.
Our response:
The Community Dementia Nurse (CDN) service and Care Home Support Team (CHST), within the Managing Memory Together Service, offer primary care led memory assessments for patients presenting with advanced cognitive symptoms where a dementia is considered highly likely. These patients therefore do not require the Memory Assessment Service (MAS) secondary care pathway, allowing capacity for MAS to assess patients presenting with earlier cognitive symptoms.
You asked:
b. If available, please provide any SOPs, pathway diagrams, or service specifications (with personal data removed).
Our response:
Please click on link to access our Operational Policy: Managing Memory Together – Operational Policy
You asked:
2. Activity and Demand for the last three natural years (2025, 2024, 2023)
a. Referral rate per 100,000 population of your memory clinic’s catchment area per year.
Our response:
| Calendar year of referral date | Referrals received per 100,000 population |
| 2025 | 349.0 |
| 2024 | 361.4 |
| 2023 | 384.8 |
Note: the population calculation used is the office for national statistics (ONS) mid year population estimates. This hasn’t been released for 2025 yet, therefore the 2025 referrals uses the 2024 population figure.
You asked:
b. Referral routes (GP, internal mental health teams, acute trusts, self‑referral, other).
Our response:
The distinct referral sources that have been recorded for referrals between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025 are GP, self, local authority social services, carer or relative, internal mental health service, internal physical health service and other clinical speciality.
You asked:
3. Waiting Times
Please provide mean and median waiting times (in 2023, 2024, 2025):
a. From referral to initial assessment.
Our response:
| Calendar year of first diagnostic assessment | Mean wait from referral to first diagnostic assessment in weeks | Median wait from referral to first diagnostic assessment in weeks |
| 2025 | 25.3 | 24.4 |
| 2024 | 29.2 | 28.9 |
| 2023 | 21.7 | 20.9 |
You asked:
b. From initial assessment to diagnosis of dementia (or conclusion of the assessment episode including formal diagnosis of MCI).
Our response:
| Calendar year of confirmed diagnosis | Mean wait from first diagnostic assessment to confirmed diagnosis in weeks | Median wait from first diagnostic assessment to confirmed diagnosis in weeks |
| 2025 | 14.9 | 10.1 |
| 2024 | 19.8 | 14.6 |
| 2023 | 18.3 | 13.3 |
Note: as diagnosis has been requested, we have only included diagnosis that have been recorded as confirmed. There may be other people where the condition is apparent or suspected but has not been recorded as confirmed.
You asked:
4. Diagnostic Process
a. Do non‑medical professionals conduct routine diagnostic initial assessments and do these require medical input in anyway?
Our response:
Most routine diagnostic initial assessments are completed by memory assessment nurses. The assessments are discussed at the weekly team multidisciplinary meeting, in which medical input is provided to either make a diagnosis or plan for further investigations.
You asked:
b. Neuroimaging: Is a head scan carried out prior to initial assessments? (CT, MRI, PET modalities).
Our response:
A CT head scan is typically ordered prior to initial assessment and arranged via the GP. GP’s normally request these as part of the referral to the Memory Assessment Service (MAS).
You asked:
c. Biomarkers: Are any biomarkers (blood, CSF) available as a part of the diagnostic process?
Our response:
There are no current biomarkers available as part of the standard diagnostic process. However, there is a Trust research project commencing in 2026 in which a small sample of patients will be eligible for CSF biomarker testing as part of the diagnostic process in MAS. This will be offered to eligible patients who are clinically complex where there is uncertainty over the diagnosis.
You asked:
5. Pharmacological Treatment and Post‑Diagnostic Support
a. Are non‑medical prescribers involved in routinely prescribing medication, and if they do, do they have to routinely confer with a medical professional?
Our response:
Non-medical prescribers are not involved in routinely prescribing medication, in MAS.
You asked:
6. Workforce and Assessment Model
a. Which of the roles listed below are exclusively dedicated to memory clinic work (PLEASE MARK WITH X):
Our response:
| Medical consultants | |
| Non‑consultant doctors | |
| B8 Nursing staff | |
| B7 Nursing staff | X – Not NMP |
| B6 Nursing staff | x NNPs x 2 not using prescribing |
| B5 Nursing Staf | X – Not NMP |
| Occupational therapists | |
| Clinical Psychology | |
| Assistant Psychologist | |
| Support workers / assistants | X |
| Administrative staff | X |
| Indicate for each non‑medical clinician whether they are non‑medical prescribers. |
You asked:
b. Number of yearly initial assessments (in 2025), separately for:
| Medical Staff | |
| Non-medical clinical staff |
Our response:
| Staff type | Number of first diagnostic assessments in 2025 |
| Medical Staff (doctors or consultants) | 101 |
| Non-medical clinical staff | 1201 |
You asked:
c. Could you provide information regarding the number of face-to-face and non-face-to-face contacts in 2025?
Our response:
| Contact type | Number of first diagnostic assessments in 2025 |
| Face to face | 1295 |
| Non face to face | 7 |
You asked:
d. Is your team involved after the assessment and initiation of treatment in providing post‑diagnostic support, or is this provided by another provider? (VCSE etc.)
Our response:
The MAS team provide the clinical aspects of post-diagnostic support following diagnosis and any initiation of treatment. The dementia advisors at the Alzheimer’s Society are commissioned to provide the non-clinical aspects of post-diagnostic support. The MAS service also offer dementia information and education sessions, led by support workers, to people diagnosed with dementia, and their carers.
Next steps:
Should you have any queries in relation to our response, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your request and wish to ask us to review our response, you should write to:
Louise Moss
Head of Legal Services / Associate Director of Corporate Governance
c/o Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park
Brockworth, GL3 4AW
E-mail: louise.moss@ghc.nhs.uk
If you are not content with the outcome of any review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for further advice/guidance. Generally, the ICO will not consider your case unless you have exhausted your enquiries with the Trust which should include considering the use of the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.