Primary Care and Dementia

Steve Iliffe is Reader in General Practice at the Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London. Vari Drennan is Senior Lecturer in Primary Care Nursing at the Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London.

• 1. The Clinical Features of Dementia. 2. Confirming and Conveying the Diagnosis. 3. The Pathway of Dementia. 4. Carers of People with Dementia. 5. Caring for People as the Dementia Progresses. 6. Good practice and Service Development. Bibliography. Index.

This Good Practice Guide was created to assist primary care teams in the management of dementia and most adequately meets this objective. The guide is short and easy to read, enabling any member of the primary care team to pick it up and become well informed in a short period of time. It is also well set out so that members of primary care teams can revisit pertinent chapters or tables as needed. The authors have opted for discussion of case studies to illustrate concepts rather than present academic facts and figures. They include a wide range of cases that emphasise the real face of dementia in primary care. This approach significantly increases the guide's practical utility. There are many personal notes throughout the guide from people involved in the lives of those with dementia. These personal touches give the reader some insight into the reality of living with dementia... The text deals well with many difficult issues for primary care teams, including when and where to refer patients, how often to follow-up, disclosing a diagnosis, caring for carers, refusal of help, medications, joint work with other agencies, the basis of secondary problems, how to avoid a crisis, neglect and abuse... In sum, the guidance in this book provides a solid start from which all members of the primary care team can offer safe and effective management of dementia in the community (including residential facilities.