Pensioner told she had dementia and sold her house to pay for care is told 18 months later there is NOTHING wrong with her  

• Winnie Hill, 88, was distraught after doctors told her she had Alzhiemer's
• Family were advised she would need round-the-clock care in special home
• Mrs Hill's daughter sold her house to fund the new accommodation
• She hated living in new home and said she didn't believe she had dementia
• After 18 months, her worried daughter sought the opinion of another doctor
• He declared she had mild cognitive impairment - not the same as dementia
• 'Furious' family moved her out of specialist home, and Mrs Hill now happier  

By Anna Hodgekiss for MailOnline

Published: 11:03 EST, 14 October 2014 | Updated: 02:08 EST, 15 October 2014

An elderly lady diagnosed with dementia sold her house to pay for an 18 month stay in a specialist care home - only to find out there was nothing wrong with her.

Winnie Hill, 88, was left distraught after doctors told her she was suffering from Alzheimer's and needed round the clock care.

The frail pensioner didn't think she was ill but agreed to sell her home in Plymouth, Devon, so she could move into a specialist medical facility.

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Misdiagnosis: Winnie Hill, 88, was left distraught after doctors told her she was suffering Alzheimer's and needed round the clock care

Her weight plummeted and she described the experience as like living in a 'prison' - but her confused family could see no signs of the dreaded condition.

They pushed for a second diagnosis and were left stunned when another doctor rubbished the original diagnosis and said Mrs Hill wasn't suffering from dementia at all.

She has since moved out of the home but her family say she suffered a devastating 18 month ordeal at the hands of the errors made to her care. 

Mrs Hill was given the devastating diagnosis of dementia in early 2013 when she showed signs of cognitive impairment.

Her daughter, Katherine Hicks, trusted experts who recommended she move into a care home with a dementia wing.

In order to pay for it, she had to sell her mother's house. 

Over the next few months she watched as her mother became withdrawn, unhappy and stopped eating.

Ms Hicks said: 'She was feeling like she was in a prison and isolated. I think she was angry as well and didn't know how to express herself.

'Everyone was looked after really well but I saw things I didn't want to see - and worried that was what my mum was going to be like - it was really hard.

'She stopped eating and started losing weight. I decided I had to had to find out what was going on.'

The second doctor diagnosed Mrs Hill with mild cognitive impairment - a less serious condition often brought on by stress or depression.

Crucially, patients can eventually recover and it does not necessarily lead to dementia.

Experts say the condition can be mistaken for dementia because there are no definitive clinical tests for the disease. 

Mrs Hill said she was shocked to hear she had Alzheimer's and hated being constantly monitored by medical staff inside the home.

She said: 'I was upset because I didn't realise there was anything wrong with me. I felt normal I didn't understand why the doctor would say that.

'I didn't like it much. It's as though they were watching over me and I didn't need watching.'

Over a year later, miserable and frustrated, she pushed her daughter to seek a second opinion.

She told the BBC programme Inside Out: 'A doctor came in to see me and said: "I don't know why they've put you in here. You don't need to be here because you don't have Alzheimer's".' 

She claims the doctor added there was nothing wrong with her. 

Mrs Hill is now furious at the way she was treated. She said: 'I got very angry. I'm not accepting this, I don't think it's right they should treat me like this.'

Her daughter added: 'It makes you feel like you want to scream and shout and somebody - but I'm not sure who I'm meant to scream and shout at.'

Mrs Hill is now living in a home where she is much happier.

However a second doctor diagnosed Mrs Hill with mild cognitive impairment - a less serious condition often brought on by stress or depression. By this point, she had sold her home 

Dementia affects an estimated 670,000 people in England and Wales but experts say 350,000 of those remained undiagnosed and without access to support.

A spokeswoman for NHS England said misdiagnosis rates are not recorded.

Dementia specialist Dr Nick Cartwell called for the data to be collected, adding: 'I think Winnie's story is a devastating story that none of us would want to see happen in the health service.

'But it's a feature of the way that we make a diagnosis of dementia. There is no absolute diagnostic test - it is based on the balance of probabilities.'

'We still don't understand how many people in our community have dementia. We have a rough idea but we still don't really understand it.

'Having an idea of the risk of pushing for that diagnosis would be a useful reality check for the government and medical profession.' 

The Department of Health has declined to comment on her case but insists that £90m is being spent annually on fighting dementia.