Sector Leaders Unite in Call for Bold Government Action on Dementia
Leading dementia charities, clinicians, academics and Royal Colleges have joined forces to urge the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to set a transformative national ambition within the forthcoming Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty.
In an open letter published on 21 May 2026, and signed by 48 prominent stakeholders across health, research and social care, Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK and Dementia UK have called for decisive leadership at a moment they describe as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to reshape dementia outcomes across the UK.
The letter warns that dementia remains the UK’s leading cause of death, with its impact on families and public services described as reaching unsustainable levels. Without urgent action, signatories caution, prevalence will rise rapidly and outcomes will deteriorate further.
For care home operators and frontline staff, the message will resonate strongly. The letter acknowledges that for too many families, a diagnosis still marks the beginning of uncertainty, with care remaining fragmented and variable across the country, characterised by long waits, unclear pathways and limited access to specialist input.
Alongside this stark assessment, the letter points to a series of scientific breakthroughs that it argues could fundamentally alter the trajectory of the disease — if the health and care system is prepared to act.
These advances include new blood tests, neuroimaging technologies and digital tools that are making earlier and more accurate diagnosis increasingly accessible. Crucially, the first Alzheimer’s treatments capable of slowing disease progression have now emerged, with over 130 further candidates currently in clinical trials. On prevention, the letter highlights evidence suggesting that up to 45% of dementia cases globally could be avoided through action on known risk factors such as smoking and hearing loss.
The signatories express concern that the UK is at risk of lagging behind international peers. They note that approximately 30% of patients in Italy and around 20% in both Germany and Spain currently have access to biomarker testing for dementia diagnosis, compared to just 5% in the UK. Countries including the United States and Japan are already beginning to deliver disease-modifying therapies, while global competition for clinical trial placement is intensifying.
In response, the letter calls for the Modern Service Framework to establish an unambiguous 10-year national ambition: that regardless of who a person is or where they live, their chance of dying from dementia will be reduced, and that those who do develop the condition will live longer with a better quality of life.
The signatories argue this ambition must be supported by a coherent national approach and strengthened workforce capacity, including access to specialist dementia nursing and multidisciplinary expertise. Without these foundations, they warn, advances in diagnosis and treatment will fail to translate into meaningful improvements for those living and dying with dementia.
The letter calls on the Framework to deliver on two parallel fronts: driving rapid improvements to the current care pathway so that people living with dementia can access appropriate support today, while simultaneously providing the long-term leadership required to transform outcomes over the next decade and beyond.
The letter was originally shared with the previous Secretary of State but has been reissued following the recent ministerial appointment. Signatories include Dame Suzi Leather DBE, Chair of Alzheimer’s Society; Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK; and Hilda Hayo, Chief Executive of Dementia UK, alongside dozens of senior figures from across the clinical, academic and care sectors.
