More than 7,200 people in Suffolk and north Essex have dementia but are undiagnosed, according to new research.

An estimated 16,500 people in the region have dementia, but only around 9,300 people have been diagnosed with the condition. This equates to a diagnosis rate of around 56%, significantly below the government target of two-thirds.

The analysis, authored by healthcare policy research consultancy Future Health, found a postcode lottery in who finds out they have the condition, with large variations across England.

It identified Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group area – which has a diagnosis rate of 51% – as being among the CCGs with the highest rate of undiagnosed dementia in the country.

The report's authors note that 18 of the 22 CCGs with the highest rates of undiagnosed cases of dementia have higher than average proportions of their populations living in rural areas.

It also found that West Suffolk had among the greatest proportion of people living with dementia in the country.

The report, which was funded by a grant from pharmaceutical giant Roche, suggests a raft of improvements, including using new digital tools to monitor people at risk and sending diagnosis equipment to areas of the country that need it the most.

Richard Sloggett, founder of Future Health and a former special adviser to Matt Hancock when he was health secretary, said: “The pandemic has set back the progress made on dementia diagnosis rates and urgent action is now needed to support recovery.

“The forthcoming dementia strategy must tackle regional disparities, particularly in how patient access to a diagnosis in rural areas can be improved.

“New targets, investment in diagnostics and technology along with a public health campaign can all help deliver a dementia diagnostic recovery that ensures patients get access to the treatment, care and support they deserve.”

The report is released just a day after a study for the Alzheimer’s Society suggested signs of dementia are too often dismissed by families or individuals as simply old age.

The charity has produced a new checklist with the Royal College of GPs to help people identify symptoms of dementia and seek help in getting diagnosed.

The charity’s poll of 1,019 dementia sufferers and their carers found that confusing dementia symptoms with getting old (42%) was the number one reason it took people so long to get a diagnosis.