Campaigners outside the houses of parliament

Put dementia on the agenda

Let’s make this the election where we transform dementia care

Dementia is a huge and growing health crisis. During the first year of the new Government, it is estimated that the number of people living with dementia in the UK will exceed one million.

Dementia has no cure, and it doesn’t just affect people with the diagnosis – too often, the whole family is left feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and alone.

That’s why it is vital that families affected by dementia can access the specialist, personalised support they need.

But for too long, people have been left to cope with the devastating effects of dementia alone.

Dementia care can and must be fixed.

As the next General Election approaches, we all have a powerful opportunity to put dementia at the top of the agenda – but it will take all of us speaking up.

Why politicians need to act

One in two of us will be affected by dementia in our lifetime – whether by caring for someone with the diagnosis, developing it ourselves, or both.

Yet our health and social care services are disjointed, difficult to access and inadequate for people with dementia. The impact of this will only make the situation worse. The time to act is now.

25 %
of people affected had a dementia review in the previous year
Too many people with dementia and their carers are missing out on a vital annual health check with their GP.
4.4 years
is the time it takes people under 65 to get a dementia diagnosis
This is twice as long as it takes for older people to get a dementia diagnosis.
2 %
of people believe that all hospital staff understand dementia
This lack of specialist dementia knowledge is resulting in inadequate hospital care.

What we need from the next UK Government

When people get the right support at the right time, it can be life-changing.

We need the next Government to lead the way in transforming dementia care by:

fixing the NHS continuing healthcare (CHC) process so more families can access vital care funding
delivering expert and personalised support after a dementia diagnosis
improving diagnosis rates and age-appropriate support for people under 65
increasing access to specialist dementia nursing in hospitals

Read the Dementia UK full manifesto

Read the shorter executive summary

We’re also partnering with leading charities to demand improvements for everyone affected by dementia across the UK. Read more about our dementia coalition.