Medical experts back our call to improve dementia diagnosis, treatment, care and support

'Sadly almost all of us know someone with dementia and have seen its effects on people we care about. There has been a great deal of scientific progress recently but it will take a concerted effort across health and social care to translate this into meaningful effects on people’s lives. That’s what we need and the faster the better.'

'I am privileged to work alongside people whose efforts - in research and its translation into new clinical tools - mean that there is genuine hope for a better future than there has ever been for people receiving a dementia diagnosis. 

I believe that the spotlight is turning to focus on the enormity of the challenge of dementia and that we have a unique opportunity to transform dementia diagnosis, support and care across the United Kingdom.'

'Dementia is the biggest cause of death in England and Wales and there is an urgent need to improve treatment and care for people living with the condition. The BGS supports the recent calls from the Alzheimer’s Society and the King’s Fund for a renewed focus on dementia.

Improvements need to be made to dementia diagnosis to enable people to access post-diagnostic support and for carers and loved ones to be able to access support. 

As disease-modifying treatments become available, it is important that appropriate patients are able to access these as quickly as possible. 

However, while a focus on dementia is important, it must not be done in isolation. The vast majority of people living with dementia are older people and most will be living with other long-term conditions such as frailty, in addition to dementia. It is essential that older people receive the care that is right for them and that care is joined up across conditions. 

The upcoming Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Frailty and Dementia is a good start and we hope that the interventions in the MSF will meet the needs of people living with frailty, dementia or both conditions. It is important that older people’s care is integrated across health and social care, across primary, community and acute care and across mental and physical health. 

Older people should receive personalised care, in the right place, at the right time, no matter what conditions they are living with, to enable them to live well and independently for as long as possible.'

'This report comes at a desperate time for memory services across the UK. On-the-ground services for people living with dementia have worsened, rather than improved, over the last 10 years. Diagnostic teams and community support are starved of cash and pared back to the bone. The possible future outlined in this report is a ray of hope for the burnt-out professionals and desperate families trying to help people living with dementia.  

The report shows how leadership and investment has driven fantastic progress in cancer care and how this can be a model for the UK to become the best in the world for early identification of people at risk of dementia and for trialling new interventions. We must capitalise on recent scientific advances in dementia. This report provides a blueprint that will bring hope to the people and families affected by this awful disease.'

'As a GP with an extended role in frailty and dementia, being involved in this work at ground level has at times felt as if we’ve been treading water. 

There has been a massive amount of dedication from clinicians and services but far too often we have tried to provide good care for people living with dementia and their carers within an ineffective and fragmented system. It is great to hear this call for change. 

We need to apply the same energy, vision and drive that has been used to transform cancer care to addressing some of these system issues.'

'For far too long, an accurate and early diagnosis of dementia has been overlooked. 

We need to transform the dementia care pathway with the same urgency as cancer: diagnose early, provide a clear care plan and ensure people have access to the right treatment and support as soon as possible.'

'As this latest analysis from The King’s Fund and Alzheimer’s Society demonstrates, science is only half the battle. 

Cancer care was transformed because breakthroughs were matched with political leadership, support networks, and infrastructure. Now is our opportunity to do the same for dementia.'

'Every day, we see the profound impact dementia has on individuals, families and carers. 

While advances in research offer real hope for the future, there is also a growing understanding of the opportunities to reduce risk and support prevention through public health interventions and healthier ageing. 

People affected by dementia need timely diagnosis, access to high-quality post-diagnostic support, and coordinated health and social care services that meet their needs throughout their journey. Carers must also be recognised as essential partners in care and provided with the support they need. 

We should be as ambitious for dementia as we have been for cancer, ensuring there is clear leadership, accountability and investment to deliver equitable, person-centred care for all those affected.'

'Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges of our time, yet too many of our patients face delays in diagnosis and receive fragmented care and support. The vision set out by Alzheimer’s Society and The King’s Fund is both timely and necessary. 

By applying the ambition, coordination and sustained investment that transformed cancer care, we have an opportunity to deliver better outcomes and quality of life for people living with dementia and their families.'

'Cancer and dementia can both devastate lives, but increasingly a cancer diagnosis comes with the hope of treatment and a cancer-free future. People with dementia deserve that same hope — yet for many, the struggle still begins with simply getting an accurate diagnosis.'

'Fifty years of cancer research have moved medicine toward the earliest, smallest stages of disease, so that initial metastatic presentation is increasingly rare rather than expected. 

Dementia deserves the same ambition: a future where established, symptomatic disease is the exception, not the norm, because we caught, slowed or treated it years before.'

'We are at a pivotal moment. Disease-modifying treatments and a diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer's are no longer a distant hope. 

Just as early breakthroughs catalysed a revolution in cancer care, we must seize this moment and build the research, care and policy infrastructure to transform the lives of people living with dementia.'