People living with dementia are clear about the experiences and outcomes that will improve their quality of life, maintain their lives as part of their communities, and help them plan for their futures.

There are many examples of positive practice where services are achieving better outcomes. The best of these show:

• Collaboration and partnership (for example, between commissioners, health & social care providers and non-statutory sector)
• Practitioners who demonstrate not only knowledge and skills, but also empathy, flexibility and compassion and carry those values into their everyday work
• Clarity of roles
• Involvement of people living with dementia
• Foresight and an emphasis on planning and early intervention in order to manage the person’s journey proactively.

However, in many instances people living with dementia find themselves frustrated at the lack of forethought, information, knowledge, skills and person-centred values that they encounter in their local services.