Paying GPs to identify dementia undermines patients’ trust in doctors, a study suggests.

In recent years, health officials have introduced a series of schemes which typically pay family doctors £55 a head for every patient classed as having the condition.

The initiatives came despite concern from some GPs that they would be seen as “bribes” which could sway doctors towards misdiagnosis.

Researchers from the University of York examined more than 7,000 practices in England to examine the impact of the schemes, which began to be introduced in 2013.

The study found that the incentives were associated with a significant fall in confidence and trust in the GP – of around 0.5 percentage points, in patient polling.

Across all practices, around 68 per cent of patients said they had trust and confidence in their doctors. A similar fall was seen in the extent to which patients felt that care was centred around on them, while access to care fell by 0.36 percentage points.

A number of GPs objected to the payments system, calling it an “ethical travesty” which amounted to “cash for diagnoses”.