Lucy Craig, founder and managing director of the North East’s leading dementia care group, Craig Healthcare, is calling for further urgent action following yesterday’s stark warning published in The Lancet medical journal.
The report highlights transformative advances in Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment but warns that the UK’s healthcare infrastructure is dangerously unprepared.
A long-time advocate for person-centred dementia care, Lucy states that the NHS is “simply not ready” to meet growing demand.
“Although progress is happening within the North East, the pace must accelerate nationally to meet the coming demand,” she said.
“General hospital wards are ill-equipped and often misinformed when it comes to managing the complex needs of dementia patients.
“This leads to longer hospital stays, higher costs, and poorer outcomes for patients and families.”
Lucy is urging the UK Government to prioritise investment in specialist dementia units across all NHS trusts, and to collaborate with regional care experts to ensure equitable access to emerging treatments. Her call aligns with the Alzheimer’s Society’s campaign for systemic reform and improved care pathways.
The charity warns that without decisive action, the UK risks missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform dementia care.
Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer, said: “We are standing at a crossroads. The science is moving fast, but our (national) infrastructure is lagging behind. Without specialist units, we risk failing the very people these breakthroughs are meant to help.”
According to NHS England, dementia costs the UK economy an estimated £23 billion annually, more than cancer, heart disease, and stroke combined. That figure is projected to triple by 2040.
Craig Healthcare, with homes in Northumberland and Tyneside, has long championed integrated care models that combine clinical expertise with compassionate support. It believes the region can help lead the way in shaping a national response.
Lucy continued: “From a financial perspective, the cost of inadequate care is immense.
“Emergency interventions and reactive treatments are far more expensive than proactive, specialist support. Investing in dedicated dementia units is not just morally right, it’s economically essential.
“Dementia doesn’t discriminate, it affects every community, every background, every generation. As we look ahead to 2051, with over two million people expected to be living with dementia, we must ask what kind of society we want to be. One that reacts to crisis, or one that plans with compassion and foresight?”
Currently, one in three people with dementia remain undiagnosed in the UK. Access to gold-standard diagnostic tests, such as PET scans and lumbar punctures, is available to just 2-percent of patients.