Creating dementia friendly communities

As the population of older people grows, there will be a significant increase in the number of those suffering with some form of dementia.


A National Dementia Strategy is in place which focuses on early diagnosis and specialist health and social care services, but more attention also needs to be paid to how ordinary mainstream services should respond.

The Ageing Well programme has undertaken piloting work in an urban and rural council. It has focussed on how to make council, voluntary and private sector services work together to be more supportive of older people with mild or early stage dementia. The work has led to the production of a definition of what a dementia friendly community would look like and what steps local authorities need to look at to make progress towards bringing it into being.

Dementia friendly communities at a glance:

  • There will be increasing numbers of people with mild or early stages of dementia.
  • Public and private sector can improve communities for people with dementia.
  • Making communities dementia friendly is an important dimension of preparing for an ageing society.