ABSTRACT
Memory clinics have been developing in the United Kingdom (UK) since the 1980s, and have been presented as an efficient way to identify cases of mild to moderate dementia and instigate and monitor drug treatment, as recommended by the National Service Framework for Older People (Department of Health 2001). Both nationally and internationally, memory clinics vary in their aims, scope and services provided (Lindesay et al. 2002, Dukes 2003), but they usually have the common aspects of assessing and diagnosing mild to moderate dementia. In England, the National Dementia Strategy suggests that memory clinics may form the core of new specialist services designed to deliver good quality early diagnosis and intervention (Department of Health 2009). A more complete review of memory clinic service provision can be found in the preceding chapter (Chapter 7), by Sue Watts and her colleagues.
