There are two big problems with the dementia DES (‘NHS Commissioning Board reveals final specifications for new DESs’).
Firstly, the standard questionnaires required are probably unsuitable for the patients with learning disabilities we are supposed to be targeting.
Secondly, the national cap on payments means that the more assessments that are done, the less each one is paid. As there is little clinical benefit, it is hard to see a reason to do this considerable amount of extra work.
Dr Sarah Annetts, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
