HEALTH chiefs estimate there are more than 900 people with undiagnosed dementia in Bolton.

The number of formally diagnosed dementia sufferers is higher in Bolton than the national average.

Yet doctors say it is vital to find those people living unknowingly with dementia, which causes a decline in brain function.

Dr Stephen Liversedge, clinical director for primary care at NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “A dementia diagnosis will always be difficult news, but an early diagnosis can help people to get the right treatment and support and allow those close to them to prepare and plan for the future.

“Seventy per cent of people in Bolton with dementia have received a formal diagnosis. This is one of the highest rates in Greater Manchester and exceeds the national aim of 67 per cent.

"This is the result of ongoing work by Bolton CCG and GPs to identify those patients who are most at risk and offer assessment and specialist referral.”

There are currently 2,144 patients diagnosed with dementia in Bolton.

Predictions indicate there are an extra 920 sufferers who are yet to have the condition diagnosed.

NHS England, the national body which commissions GP services, announced it would pay family doctors £55 for each patient they diagnose with dementia.

NHS England said the aim of the six-month £5 million scheme was to increase the number of sufferers who receive treatment for the condition.

It is estimated up to 90,000 patients are living with undiagnosed nationally.

Dementia is an umbrella term used for a collection of symptoms resulting from a number of different diseases of the brain.

There are many types but all tend to affect brain function and cause problems with memory, mental agility, language skills, and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.

NHS England is aiming to diagnose two thirds those with dementia by 2015.

Some practices are diagnosing far fewer �— and the £5 million fund will reward them for getting nearer to that level.

In 2013 Bolton doctors introduced a new memory test to identify dementia patients at an earlier stage.

The Memory Assessment Service — funded by the CCG — is run by Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.