New postgraduate training opportunities will be provided to GPs as part of England's national dementia strategy, Mr Hope told the Daily Mail.
‘We want to see every GP trained to recognise the symptoms of early dementia and patients referred to specialist services in every area where they would get a proper diagnosis,' he said.
Funding will also be provided for memory clinics, where treatment and support will be provided by geriatricians, psychiatrists and GPs with a specialist interest.
‘We need to be diagnosing people with dementia much earlier so we can have earlier intervention in their lives and support carers - this is what everyone tells us they want and need,' Mr Hope said.
A report published earlier this year by the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee revealed that while dementia costs the NHS £14bn a year but primary care professionals are not adequately trained to help patients with the condition, and many receive no formal diagnosis.
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