The second Leicester survey of memory clinics in the British Isles

Abstract

Background: The number of memory clinics in the British Isles has increased since our first survey in 1993.

Objectives: The aim of this survey was to determine the memory clinics' characteristics and functions, and to compare these with the findings of our previous survey.

Methods: An expanded version of the 1993 questionnaire was sent to 102 possible memory clinics, identified by various means. There were 72 replies, 58 of which were from currently active clinics.

Results: There has been a substantial growth in the number of clinics since our previous survey in 1993, apparently stimulated by the licensing of cholinesterase inhibitor drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the development of services for early-onset dementia. Most of the new memory clinics have been set up within NHS old age psychiatry services, and they tend to be smaller and have less of an academic focus than the older clinics. However, they are similar in many aspects of their functioning, and have a similar range of practice with regard to patient assessment.

Conclusions: As memory clinics move out from academic centres into mainstream clinical services, there is potential for greater co-ordination of their activities, and the development of an agreed core data set for assessment that would be valuable in the national monitoring of new anti-dementia treatments in clinical practice.