Alzheimer’s Society: Reimagining local dementia support

Dementia is one of the biggest health and care challenges of our time. Alzheimer’s Society plays a vital role in providing help and hope - but to meet growing demand, reduce crisis and adapt to changing health and care services, their local support offer needs to evolve.

Healthia is working with Alzheimer’s Society to co-design a future-ready model of flexible, local dementia support with a focus on integration, personalisation and crisis prevention. The work is underway and brings together insight from people with lived experience, frontline staff, internal stakeholders, and system partners to shape a new approach that is more proactive, equitable and sustainable.

What we’re doing

We’re delivering a structured, inclusive discovery and design process to:

• Understand what’s working well in local support and where the gaps are
• Identify high-performing services and early innovations across the UK and internationally
• Co-create a flexible, modular model of dementia support that can adapt to local needs and scale nationally
• Define the enablers needed to deliver it - across workforce, systems, data, partnerships and outcomes
• Produce visual artefacts that communicate the future model and support alignment across the organisation

The project blends inclusive research, co-design and service modelling. From accessible interviews and workshops to storyboarding, each stage is designed to bring in diverse voices and drive confident decision-making.

Early insight 

So far we've conducted in-depth interviews with GPs, commissioners, international dementia organisations, researchers, and partner charities, plus internal interviews, workshops and local service visits with dementia advisers and service managers to understand what's working and where the gaps are, for example: 

• The "not bad enough yet" gap - research consistently highlighted how people with early concerns about memory or cognition often delay seeking support because they believe they need to wait until severely impacted, revealing a critical prevention opportunity
• Language and stigma create barriers - reframing from "dementia" to "brain health" and moving away from clinical settings significantly increases engagement, while cultural translation challenges mean some communities face additional obstacles to accessing support
• Personal connection prevents crisis - services with consistent dementia advisers who maintain relationships and spot early warning signs are more effective at preventing hospital admissions and care breakdowns than fragmented care models

The breadth of voices - from healthcare professionals and commissioners to international experts and frontline staff - is providing rich insight into both the challenges and opportunities for creating a more proactive, connected model of dementia support.

Why it matters

Alzheimer’s Society plays a unique role in our health system - not just as a service provider, but as a convener and system leader. This project supports that role by helping to:

• Focus on early intervention and crisis prevention, whilst continuing to respond to crisis at an individual and local level
• Surface and scale local innovations
• Connect national infrastructure with frontline delivery
• Make better use of limited resources by prioritising what works
• Create a coherent service model that reflects real-world needs and ambitions

Our approach

• Human insight and systems thinking - grounding transformation in what people really need, while building for scale and sustainability
• Co-design that builds momentum - working as one team with Alzheimer’s Society to align internal teams and external partners
• Accessible, visual communication - using maps, models and storyboards to accelerate clarity and consensus

Claire Reynolds, Director of Transformation at Healthia said: “We’re honoured to be working alongside Alzheimer’s Society to shape the future of dementia support. By grounding the design in real experiences and building for scale, we can help create a model that is proactive, inclusive and sustainable – and that delivers impact where it matters most.”

Chris Larkin, Associate Director - Services at Alzheimer’s Society said: “This work is about reimagining how support is delivered so people get help earlier, more consistently, and in a way that reflects the realities of their lives. Healthia’s experience across the NHS and third sector have made them a great fit here. Partnering allows us to bring together the voices of people affected by dementia with the insight and tools we need to turn that vision into reality.”