look at the Alzheimers society website you can down load fact sheets on getting a diagnosis-it s normal protocol for the GP to take specific bloods to rule out anything medical/physical that may be causing the memory loss.the GP should then refer your boyfriends father on to the local Community mental health team for assessment at the memory clinic-this is a national directive under the new national dementia strategy which you can googlgood luck

It took us 8 months to get a diagnosis, and I have heard it can take longer. Doctors like to rule out and double check everything before making such a diagnosis. My dad was told he was depressed and then they said he was an alcoholic. Very upsetting. We got a goot psychologist who offered an EEG. Once we had this he also had a spec scan and they were able to confirm from these that he had had his condition for 4/5 years.

Hi, The usual process is that his GP should do some blood tests to rule out revisible causes of memory problems. Once these results are back, GPs would routinely refer to the local memory services (comes under mentla health) who will assess him fully and give him a diagnosis if he has a dementia like Alzheimer's. At that point he may qualify for tablets which may slow down the deterioration. The main thing is to get a diagnosis whatever the cause is, so at least then he is in the 'system'. Unforutnately these things always take weeks and sometimes months. Some people prefer to request private consultations. However these are usually NHS doctors doing some private work in addition to their NHS role. Blood tests should always done first in any event. I hope this answers your question.