UK Dementia Congress Programme

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

8:30 Registration

Welcome and introduction from Dementia Community and our headline sponsor, Sensio.

Opening Panel: Technology in dementia care

Introduction and Chair: Arlene Astell, Professor of Cyberpsychology, Northumbria University

Panel 1: What works for you now, and what – if you had a magic wand – could you imagine would be helpful?

People with lived experience of dementia from the following groups and organisations: Alzheimer’s Society, Innovations in Dementia, Bradford University experts by experience, tide (together in dementia every day), Dementia Carers Count. Including: Christine Maddocks, Eleanor Connelly, Natalie Cryer, Lynne Hagan, John O’Doherty, Ruth Eley.

Panel 2: What’s next in tech?

Short introductory presentation:
Technology Empowered Dementia Independence (TEDI) Network Plus: Launching the System Change Big Conversation
Arelene Astell Details

Followed by panel discussion. Panel to include:
Peter Middleton. living with dementia
Lisa Delaney, Sensio Victoria Lyons, Head of Digital Service Delivery, Dementia UK
Ella Moonan-Howard, Senior Innovator, Alzheimer’s Society
Dr Ivana Babicova, Birmingham City University.

11:30-12:00 Refreshments
1.1 Auditorium
Advanced dementia, communication and care

Chair: Sam Dondi-Smith

‘Searching’ in dementia care – a feelings-based approach.
Sam Dondi-Smith, Consultant Occupational Therapist, Senior Partner at the National Dementia Care Accreditation Scheme
David Sheard, Professor of Emotional Intelligence in Care, York St John University.

Adaptive Interaction – Reaching individuals living with advanced dementia
Maggie Ellis, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of St Andrews
Details

Flexibility is key: A comparison of four care home journeys to implementing an evidence-based intervention (Namaste Care)
Isabelle Latham, Hallmark Care Homes
Details

Measuring ‘magic’ – evaluating Namaste Care sessions
Nicola Kendall, Equal Arts
Details

1.2 Barbirolli Room
Technology in Dementia Care

Chair: Arlene Astell

People living with dementia leading home technology tours
Arlene Astell, Professor of Cyberpsychology, Northumbria University
Details

“Liv”: Co-creating a dementia-positive AI
Steve Milton, Innovations in Dementia CIC
Details

A feasibility randomised controlled trial of a digital programme to prevent falls and improve well-being in people living with dementia in the community
Jaheeda Gangannagaripalli, NIHR-ARC DEM-COMM Fellow, University of Manchester.
Details

The digital transformation of care
Lisa Delaney, Sensio.
Followed by a panel discussion with all speakers.

1.3 Green Room
Dementia care in acute hospitals

Chair: Shirley Evans

Developing a toolkit to improve acute hospital appointments for people living with dementia
Dr Rachael Kelley, Leeds Beckett University
Dr Nicky Taylor, Leeds Beckett University
and Lived Experience Contributors
Details

Live and Jive: Bringing live and personalised music to older people in acute hospitals in NHS Tayside
Dr Suzanne Gray, Dementia Nurse Consultant, NHS Tayside
Eilaine White Clinical Academic Nurse Consultant for Older People, NHS Tayside
Details

Living with Dementia Theatre Passport
Kellie Leatherbarrow, Deputy team leader Operating Department Practitioner (ODP), Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
Details

Royal Victoria Hospital Meeting Centre: Psychosocial Community Support in a Hospital Setting
Graham Galloway, CEO, Meeting Centres Scotland
Details

1.4 Charles Hallé Room
Young onset dementia

Chair: Reinhard Guss

30min workshop: Supporting people with young onset dementia and family members to retain/rebuild identity after diagnosis
Jan Oyebode Professor of Dementia Care, University of Bradford
Louise Ritchie, Professor in Dementia Research, University of West Scotland
Patricia Masterson Algar, Bangor University
Philip Angrave, expert by experience, Young Dementia Network
Details

Followed by two 12min presentations:

Advance Care Planning for those living with Young Onset Dementia
Sophie Dodsworth, Admiral Nurse for Young Onset Dementia
Fran Mada, Consultant Admiral nurse for Young Onset Dementia
Dementia UK
Details

Childhood dementia – a forgotten community
Chris Knifton, Associate Professor in Neurocognitive and Neurodevelopmental Studies
De Montfort University
Details

13:10-14:00 Lunch, Networking and:
Auditorium

An open conversation – Two men in a pub: film and discussion
Suzy Webster, Lived Experience Coordinator, Dementia UK
Andrew Swindells, expert by experience
Details

Barbirolli Room

The 3Nations Working Group
A chance to meet members including Peter Middleton, Stephen Kennedy, Marilyn Williams and others, to chat about their experience of technology and how it has helped them.
Details

Green Room

Evaluating a Culturally Appropriate Toolkit for African and Caribbean People Living with Dementia and their Care Partners
Jennifer MacRitchie, University of Sheffield
Carl Case, Culturally Appropriate Resources
Details

Charles Hallé Room
Mini Presentations (13:15 start)
Community, Diagnosis and Support, Family Carers, Young Onset Dementia

Chair: Sarah Kirkland, Dementia United (part of NHS Greater Manchester ICB)

Greater Manchester Showcase

Featuring organisations who involve and work with experts by experience (people living with dementia and family carers): Dementia United (part of NHS Greater Manchester ICB), Ruth Turner and Ann Booth, DCERG (Dementia Carers Expert Reference Group), Sania Rehman, Team Sahara, the Greater Manchester South Asian Project, with experts by experience

14:15 Keynote Address: Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

Redefining public service: Supporting people to live well with dementia in Greater Manchester 
This keynote will showcase and celebrate Greater Manchester’s pioneering approach in providing great everyday support and services for people living with dementia, their families and carers.
It will also explore Greater Manchester’s whole system approach through the lenses of prevention, diversity and inclusion, and research and innovation, offering a vision for the future of public services both across the city-region and nationally.
Details

2.1 Auditorium
Presentation and panel discussion: Diagnosis and beyond

Chair: Rachel Thompson, Dementia UK

Dementia in the NHS in England: achievements and challenges

Jeremy Isaacs, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Dementia and Older People’s Mental Health, and a consultant neurologist at St George’s Hospital and Kingston Hospital, London
Details

Followed by panel discussion, to include:
Giles Wilmore, Manchester Camerata
Victoria Lyons, Head of Digital Service Delivery, Dementia UK
George Rook, living with dementia
Frances Lawrence, Dementia Carers Count

2.2 Barbirolli Room
Alzheimer’s Society partner session

Chair: Ella Moonan-Howard
Senior Innovator, Alzheimer’s Society

Five Dementia Innovations that will transform the world
Dementia devastates lives; innovation transforms them. Join us to hear from innovators who are developing products that will improve the lives of people with dementia at potentially a global scale: from hydration to finances; from diagnostics to end-of-life care. Each innovator will deliver a three-minute pitch and then answer your questions (including “Where can I buy it?”).
Presenters:
Jayne Sibley, Founder, Sibstar
Devika Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Brain +
Matea Deliu, Director of Partnerships and System Transformation, Kneu Health
Dr Tess Morris-Paterson,  Founder & CEO, Hydrocare
Dr. Zeke Steer, Founder, Milbotix

2.3 Green Room
Care homes, quality of life and community connections

Chair: Sally Knocker, Meaningful Care Matters

Brewing Connections: The Hoppiness Project’s impact on agency, reminiscence, and community in dementia care
Guy Manchester
Gardening Facilitator, Alive Activities and St Monica Trust.
Details

‘Hallmark in Bloom’ garden competition – How it’s helping to drive person-centred engagement with the garden
Georgina Miller, Hallmark Care Homes
Debbie Carroll, Step Change Design
Details

Bringing the dining room to the room: Personalised mealtime moments for isolated residents
Ryan Lim, Care Assistant, Brunelcare.
Details

Honey Bluebell Book Club: Building connection through reading in residential care
Nelia Soares, Care Assistant, Brunelcare
Details

2.4 Charles Hallé Room
Institute for Health and Care Improvement (IHCI)
York St John University
Academic Partner session

Emotional Navigation in Dementia Care : the fear factor in self and organisations?
A comparison of models in theory and practice
Navigational skills in the context of emotional intelligence refer to the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others. We know that people living with a dementia experience a greater emphasis on feelings. Yet over the last 30 years in person-centred dementia care the emphasis on this has been variable. Dementia design, meaningful occupation, responses to ‘behaviours’ appear to have dominated so much thinking and practice. Varied models from universities are now emerging re person-led and relational care. Referencing Michael Verde from Memory Bridge who states a fear of emotions has become a significant barrier to person-centred care, Professor David Sheard, introduced in this symposium by Professor Garry Tew, Director of IHCI at York St John University, will present his analysis of the past and current landscape in dementia care and why he believes emotional intelligence in care is the missing foundational piece.

16:20-16:50 Refreshments and Exhibition viewing
3.1 Auditorium
Staff development in care settings

Chair: Ian James

Training, support and the dynamics of everyday practice in a residential care home.
Penny Johns, Dementia Practitioner, Jewish Care
Details

Dementia Education – development of Dementia Ambassadors to support delivery of education across large care home group
Laura Steward, Head of Dementia, MMCG
Details

Developing, delivering and embedding Enriched Model of Dementia Care training using Quality Improvement on a Dementia Inpatient Unit
Shelley Crossland, Clinical Professional Lead
Rachel McMurray, Clinical Specialist SLT
Kelvin Mayes Assistant Practitioner OT, Leicester Partnership NHS Trust
Details

Enhancing person-centred dementia care across Gwent through Dementia Care Mapping
Simon Chalmers, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Katherine Rigg, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Details

3.2 Barbirolli Room
Technology in Dementia Care

Chair: Arlene Astell

Is there such a thing as virtual dementia nursing? – The experience of nursing people living with dementia remotely with MinderCare
Jan Amade-Cassimo, Dementia Clinical Nurse Specialist, MinderCare, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Details

Integrating socially assistive robotics to support wellbeing in people living with dementia
Carlos A. Cifuentes, Associate Professor in Human-Robot Interaction, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England
Details

Accelerating the digital transformation of care
Panel discussion to include speakers from this session and 1.2 above, plus representatives of Sensio and Ally Cares

3.3 Green Room
Support in the community

Chair: Graham Galloway
Co-chair: Joy Watson

Living well with dementia for couples and families
Dr Natasha Woodstoke, Clinical Psychologist & Research Fellow
Dr Karin Buschenfeld, Clinical Psychologist & Clinical Research Associate
University of the West of England
Details

Integrating Dementia Coordinators in ED and SDEC: Preventing admission and reducing length of stay
Katie Antill, CEO, Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services, Dartford Gravesham and Swanley
Details

Dementia in rural and coastal communities
Dr Emily Dodd, Senior Research Fellow, University of the West of England, Bristol
Details

It needs a village…
Nigel Rose
Emma Gilbey
Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group
Details

3.4 Charles Hallé Room
Lived experience and co-production

Chair: Joanna Brown
Co-chair: George Rook

Presentations and panel discussion including:

Advancing inclusive research approaches in involving underserved groups in dementia research: Co-creating the EMPOWER Dementia Network
Andy Bradshaw EMPOWER Dementia Network+, King’s College London
Details

Dementia Research: how you can have a voice
Mohammed Akhlak Rauf
Sal Browning
NIHR Policy Research Unit in Dementia and Neurodegeneration at Queen Mary University of London (DeNPRU-QM)
Details

Followed by panel discussion including service providers and experts by experience including Sarah Kirkland, and Louise Lynch, Dementia United, Greater Manchester.

18:00 Bar and networking
Barbirolli Room
Dementia Pathfinders Buffet Supper

Working collaboratively with ‘Dementia Community’ at the UK Dementia Congress 2025, Dementia Pathfinders will be hosting an informal supper gathering for delegates on the evening of 17th November 2025.
Join us for a relaxed gathering of networking and connection.
A light buffet supper will be served, accompanied by a selection of soft drinks.
The buffet will include:

  • Hot chicken and/or vegetarian dishes
  • A selection of desserts
  • Soft drinks

Tickets are limited, so please book ahead; alternatively, tickets will be available to purchase on the day.

£30
Details and Pre-Booking

EB1 Auditorium
Film and Discussion

“If Not Now, When?” Film and discussion on living with young onset dementia
Dr Jacqueline Hussey, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist, Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and Deputy Chair of Charity Younger People With Dementia CIO
Charlie Draper, Joint Director of Clinical & Operational Services, Younger People With Dementia CIO
Details

EB2 Barbirolli Room
Workshop in two parts – Singing and play

Singing together: the advantages to emotional wellbeing and self respect
Nia Davies Williams, Freelance Musician and Musician in Residence, Pendine Park Care Organisation.
Details

Meaningful play in dementia care: a workshop
Mike Wragg, Senior Lecturer Childhood Development & Playwork
Nicky Everett, Senior Lecturer, Leeds Beckett University
Details

EB3 Green Room
Early support in the community – three presentations

Chair: Lucy Whitman

Creative Befriending: Expression, Connection and Wellbeing through Collaborative Arts Projects
Sofi Mogensen, Creative Befrienders Project Manager
Shelley Hastings, Social Prescription Project Manager
Katerina Kalogeraki, Photographer and former Creative Befriender
Resonate Arts
Details

No one else’s words: Holding space for unfiltered memory and first-person truth in dementia care
Emily Bird, Remembering Yesterday Caring Today
Details

GREAT Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy in practice: a case study
Emma Marshall, Peartree Community Services Neurological Rehabilitation
Details

EB4 Charles Hallé Room
Mini-presentations
Communication and Care, Care Homes

Chair: Suzanne Mumford

The Art of Care: How the study of care aesthetics reveals a new direction for person-centred practices in dementia care
John Keady
, Professor of Mental Health Nursing and Older People, University of Manchester
James Thompson, Professor of Applied Theatre, University of Manchester
Jenny Harris, freelance drama practitioner
Details

11:00-11:30 Refreshments and Exhibition viewing
4.1 Auditorium
Manchester Camerata

The UK’s First Centre of Excellence for Music & Dementia, hosted by Manchester Camerata
An opportunity to experience first-hand one of Manchester Camerata’s award-winning Music in Mind music therapy-based sessions, designed by professional music therapists and developed in partnership with Manchester University
Giles Wilmore and colleagues, Manchester Camerata
Details

4.2 Barbirolli Room
Alzheimer’s Society partner session

Creating a set of Involvement Principles:
listening to what matters to people with lived experience

This interactive workshop will be led by people living with dementia and family carers supported by Alzheimer’s Society. It will introduce a set of co-produced Involvement Principles, designed to support meaningful collaboration with people with lived experience. Through examples, group discussion and activities, participants will explore how these principles apply to their own involvement and work. Open to professionals and people with lived experience, the session encourages shared learning and reflection.
Speakers:
Jonathan Kaye
Madeleine Aziz-Brook
Martina Davis
Lane Buckels
Dementia Voice partners

4.4 Charles Hallé Room
Institute for Health and Care Improvement (IHCI)
York St John University
Academic Partner session

Emotional Intelligence in Care – poignant findings from emotions at work in lived experience, research, care homes and accreditation: York St John perspectives
Emotional Intelligence in Care prioritises recognition of people’s mutual vulnerability, the need for equal relationships and the provision of well-being strategies to support emotional labour. This is evidenced when a care service demonstrates this in its core mission, culture, leadership and practice. Join us to hear from panel members:

Jo Beardsworth, ‘I didn’t sign up for this’
Vanessa Baxter, Service Manager and Researcher IHCI, York St John University
Racheal Carroll, Learning and Development lead – EQ Care Group
Sam Dondi Smith Fellow IHCI, York St John University/Senior Partner NaDCAS
led by Professor David Sheard
They will summarise from their different direct experience whether enough emphasis is being given in the care sector to emotional intelligence and how this should be the driving force of future developments in dementia care.

12:45-13:45 Lunch, Networking, Exhibition viewing and:
Auditorium

Book Launch

Come to a celebration of “The Creative Dementia Practice Handbook – Arts for Health and Wellbeing” 
led by co-editors Maria Pasiecznik Parsons and Richard Coaten
with a poem by Ronald Amanze
and dance by the Balbir Singh Dance Company

Barbirolli Room

Dementia in UK Prisons
Lorna Hart-Thomson, Development Lead, Meeting Centres Scotland
Emma Smith, Project Manager, Age UK Salford and Trafford
Details

Green Room

Exploring healthcare staff perspectives of why African Caribbean people may be presenting later to dementia services
Armita Farsinejad, trainee clinical psychologist
David Truswell, Healthcare & Dementia Consultancy Director
Details

Charles Hallé Room
Mini Presentations (12:55 start)
Community, Diagnosis and Support, Family Carers
5.1 Auditorium
Challenges and successes in social care and dementia care today

Chair: Jude Sweeting

Social care: challenges and opportunities ahead
Vic Rayner, CEO National Care Forum
Details

The Care Quality Commission and dementia care
Stefan Kallee, Deputy Director of Adult Social Care
with
Lynda Harrison, expert by experience
Details

5.2 Barbirolli Room
Connections – a two-part/integrated workshop 

What matters to me? How development of a personal sensory biography has helped meet needs.
Susannah Thwaites
Emma Biglands
Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Details

The world in one shining moment
Dr Sarah Fox, NIHR ARC Dementia Research Fellow, University of Manchester
Leah Payne, lived experience partner and Information, Advice Guidance and Project Officer with Healthwatch Bolton
Details

5.3 Green Room
Mini-Presentations: Community, co-production and support
5.4 Charles Hallé Room
Involvement and co-production with minority ethnic communities

Chair: Karan Jutlla

To what extent does the Care Quality Commission capture person-centred care delivery in dementia care homes?
Jennifer Lim, Reader in Health Inequalities and Behavioural Science
Mahnaz Khalafehnilsaz, researcher
University of Wolverhampton
Details

InvolveD: Involving South Asian, Black African and African Caribbean People in Designing Better Dementia Support
Dr Karan Jutlla, Associate Professor (Reader) in Dementia Care and Inclusion, University of Wolverhampton
Emily Winnall, University of Wolverhampton
Details

The Sahara service for South Asian families in Greater Manchester
Sania Rehman, Local Services Manager for Team Sahara, South Asian Project Greater Manchester
with experts by experience

15:00-15:30 Refreshments and Exhibition viewing
6.1 Auditorium
Responding to stress and distress

Chair: Rachel Thompson, Dementia UK

Non-pharmacological prescribing in care homes – the impact on reducing distress and increasing wellbeing
Amy Pepper, Dementia Care Manager, HC-One
Details

Evidence-based communication skills to help avoid or reduce distressed behaviour in people living with dementia
Dr Rebecca O’Brien, Senior Research Fellow and Clinical Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, University of Nottingham/ Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Details

Reducing antidepressant use in people living with a dementia
Stuart Wright, Dementia Care Lead
Emma Cowling , Registered Nurse
Brunelcare
Details

Moving towards person-centred & trauma-informed language in dementia care
Dr Joanna Marshall
Dr Sally Stapleton
Dr Carolien Lamers
Advisory Group for Psychology of Ageing Network, Association of Clinical Psychologists, UK

6.2 Barbirolli Room
Quality of life in advanced dementia

Chair: Isabelle Latham

An overview of the Dementia UK Consultant Admiral Nurse service supporting families affected by frailty and dementia
Kerry Lyons, Consultant Admiral Nurse for Frailty and Physical Health, Dementia UK
Details

Prescribing non-pharmacological interventions in care homes – a practical approach
Ellie Lakey
Megan Holden
Care Home Liaison Team, Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust
Details

Assistant Psychologists: Addressing dementia care gaps and ‘Finding the Why’ through the SDCC Framework
Maria McGinlay, Assistant Psychologist, HC-One
Details

Towards holistic dementia care: Introducing the Well-being in Dementia Inventory (WiDI)
Dr Allan Perry, Consultant Neuropsychologist & Director of Clinical Service, PJ Care
Details

6.3 Green Room
Young onset dementia

Chair: Chris Knifton

Social care for people living with young-onset dementia: developing resources for improvement
Dr Catherine Quinn, Associate Professor, Centre for Applied Dementia Studies, University of Bradford
Details

A blueprint for Young Onset Dementia Services: Partnership working between Dementia Forward and Leeds Beckett
Sarah Jane Smith, Professor of Dementia Research, Leeds Beckett University
Jill Quinn, CEO Dementia Forward
Details

The Oxleas Young Onset Dementia Project – Understanding lived experiences and building inclusive support
Dr Monica Crugel, Consultant in Older Adults Psychiatry
Kelly Mills, Young Onset Dementia Nurse, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Details

A specialist nurse intervention to support children and young people of a parent with Young Onset Dementia
Hannah Gardner Consultant Admiral Nurse for Children and Young People, Dementia UK
Details

6.4 Charles Hallé Room
Lived experience and co-production

Panel and discussion session

Chair: David Truswell

The Afronauts’ Tale – Creativity, co-production and living creatively with dementia
David Truswell, CEO Designate, Culture Dementia UK
Ronald Amanze, Expert By Experience, Dementia in Dub
Details

A narrative review exploring the role of co-production in dementia practice and research
Ellie Robinson-Carter, Founding Artistic Director of The Photobook Project/ Programme Director MSc Dementia, University of Hull
Laiba Ahmad, Research Associate, University of West London
Martin Robertson, living with dementia
Details

With a panel including experts by experience.

16:40 Close