Primary care is often the first point of contact for people
with dementia. Community nurses can play an important
role in the earlier diagnosis and appropriate management
of patients with dementia. Since the introduction ofthe over-75 health screening checks, community nurses
have increasingly taken on the role of identifying cognitive
itnpairment in this group (Bryans and Wilcock,
2001). However, all members of the primary health-care
team are in a position to facilitate early identification
of impairment