The chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, Michelle Dyson, has criticized the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and government for failing to provide adequate care and support for people living with dementia.

She argues that many patients receive a diagnosis and are then discharged with little more than informational material, leaving families without meaningful guidance or ongoing clinical support.

Dyson said this level of care would be unacceptable for conditions such as cancer or heart disease and described dementia patients as being treated like 'second-class citizens.

' She also warned that the NHS is not prepared to deliver new Alzheimer's treatments that are expected to become available in the coming years.

According to Dyson, only a small percentage of UK patients have access to advanced biomarker testing, significantly lower than in countries such as Italy and Spain.

She emphasized that research indicates up to 45 percent of dementia cases may be linked to modifiable risk factors, including smoking, excessive alcohol use, obesity, high blood pressure, and untreated hearing loss, yet no major public awareness campaign exists to educate the public.

The article also highlights long waiting times for dementia diagnosis, with patients averaging 137 days from referral to diagnosis and some waiting more than a year.

As part of the Daily Mail's Defeating Dementia campaign with the Alzheimer's Society, Dyson urged the next UK government to make dementia a national healthcare priority by improving early diagnosis, expanding access to testing and treatment, strengthening social care, and providing consistent long-term support for patients and caregivers.The UK Department of Health responded by stating that it aims to ensure people affected by dementia can access high-quality, personalized support.