Introduction

This document shows the geographical distribution of the dementia surveillance data as a snapshot in March 2024. It accompanies the monthly dementia surveillance, which show the ongoing area performance. The surveillance data illustrates the disparities that exist across England in relation to the diagnosis of people with dementia and the care they receive. It is aimed at informing national and local policy development, and for local commissioners to help in planning services around the needs of people with dementia.

  • The 2023 Chief Medical Officer’s annual report: health in an ageing society notes that ‘people move out of cities and large towns before older age, concentrating geographically in coastal, semi-rural or peripheral areas, often with relatively sparse services and transport links’.
  • The maps presenting dementia data aim to help the commissioners visualise geographically the spatial distribution of the dementia-related population and need.
  • They show statistical comparisons (rates and percentages) for the health geography in England, the Integrated Care Boards (ICB) and their sub locations which were established in July 2022.

Geography

There are 42 Integrated Care Boards in England which plan services for their population’s health as part of the NHS Integrated Care System. Of these, 26 contain exactly one sub location while 16 are split into multiple sub locations creating a more granular health geography with 106 areas. Data is mapped for both, ICB and sub location, to give the commissioners a choice of looking at higher or lower geography level. The first 2 maps are a reference to the specific areas and show where each ICB and sub location is by displaying their organisation code on the map. These reference maps can be accessed at any point in the document via the left-hand-side menu.

Maps showing health geography in England: Integrated Care Boards (ICB) and sub locations

ICB