A responsive and personalised NHS integrated with social care and housing, meeting the needs of people with dementia as their condition progresses is vital.
Dementia rarely travels alone; 90% of people with dementia are living with another long-term condition, such as depression, hypertension or diabetes.
But we must go much further than this. Creating communities that are accessible and include people with dementia is also necessary.
Commitment and will alone will not work – the best way to ensure people with dementia can live well in later life is through creating meaningful involvement of the very people who are living with the condition.