The NHS is urging friends and family to look out for signs and symptoms of dementia in their loved ones as they meet up over the festive period. Dr Jeremy Isaacs, NHS England's National Clinical Director for Dementia said people can help bring those worries to the attention of a doctor for assessment. Report by Etemadil. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00Over Christmas, when people are spending time with their families, it may be an opportunity
00:05to pick up on or realise that someone in the family just doesn't seem quite so well as
00:10they did a year ago and you're showing some symptoms that might indicate the first signs
00:14of dementia. Common things to look out for that might suggest that someone is developing
00:19some worrying symptoms might be repeating yourself or asking the same question again
00:24after a few minutes, becoming a bit distressed or upset by a minor change in routine or
00:32turning up at the wrong time for a pre-arranged meeting. And what we want is that if you notice
00:38that someone in your family is showing some symptoms like this, then encourage them to
00:44go and see their GP. And even better, ask their permission to come with them so that
00:48you can tell the doctor what it is that you've seen. The reality is that for most people
00:54with dementia, they're not quite as aware of the symptoms as those around them. So for
00:59the doctor to hear from someone else exactly what's going on allows them to see the full
01:05picture and that means they can act more quickly to make sure that people get referred for
01:09a specialist assessment.