In an NHS Bristol incentive scheme which has achieve over 50% sign up, nearly 250 people were identified as having dementia and added to the registers. The biggest improvement was 37 people in one practice (2012-13).
Through supplementing the QoF, the aims of this small incentive scheme are to raise the profile of dementia within Bristol GP practices, and to improve the diagnosis rates of dementia so that practice registers better reflect the true dementia prevalence. The incentive scheme is part of a broader programme to improve care for people with symptoms of dementia.
Although dementia features in the QoF, NHS Bristol has identified a small extra sum to award practices in return for some additional effort in ensuring all appropriate people have a proper diagnosis coded in their record. Approximately five thousand pounds is available across Bristol to facilitate this. The payment for practices will be in proportion to the size of the practice list and will be shared between the practices that sign up for it.