"Dementia Diagnosis"

I booked a telephone appointment to speak to my elderly mother's GP. He told me that my mother had dementia. However the GP had done no clinical tests or assessment of my mother in reaching this conclusion. I did not believe this diagnosis. My mother died a few weeks later - the post mortem revealed that she did not have dementia.

While I understand that it's important to get an early diagnosis of dementia, I think it's equally important that the diagnosis is accurate. A diagnosis of dementia can be devastating, can kick off a number of activities and can divert more suitable treatment to deal with the symptoms being experienced. Based on my experience GPs are too quick to diagnose dementia in the elderly.