Nominations and Judging

The awards are judged by a panel of dementia experts, including people with lived experience, ensuring that every nomination is seen, valued, and understood. Whether nominating a colleague, a team, a service, or someone whose quiet dedication deserves the spotlight, this is the chance to say: you matter, and your work matters too.

Awards Timeline

• Friday 27 February 2026, 5pm: Nominations Close.
• 1-14 March 2026: Shortlisting
• 15-26 March 2026: Interviews with shortlisted nominees
• 27 March 2026: Shortlisted nominees are notified
• 30 April 2026: Gala Awards Lunch and Ceremony

General Judging Criteria

• Impact: Tangible difference made to people affected by dementia.
• Innovation or Distinctiveness: Fresh thinking, creative approaches, or unique contributions.
• Person-Centred Approach: Respect, empathy, and individualised support.
• Evidence of Effectiveness: Testimonials, outcomes, or measurable results.
• Inclusivity and Accessibility: Reaching diverse communities and promoting equity.
• Collaboration and Leadership: Working with others or leading change in a positive way

You find out more about the award categories, specific judging criteria and nomination forms on the Dementia Community website   Award Lists – Dementia Community

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Greater Manchester has reviewed and refreshed its Greater Manchester Dementia and Brain Health Quality Standards. These 18 high-level standards set a shared vision for delivering high-quality, equitable dementia care. They have been designed to be adopted by localities, alongside the Dementia and Brain Health Delivery Plan 2023 to 2025, and to act as benchmarks to guide improvement and reform across the region.

To support implementation, Dementia United has been working closely with all ten boroughs to deliver a series of self-assessment workshops. Each locality is bringing together multi-agency teams to assess current practice against the standards and develop locally owned action plans that will shape their dementia strategies going forward.

Trafford’s commitment to improvement

Trafford has a strong history of partnership working to improve support for people affected by dementia, and the workshop offered an important opportunity to take stock together with Dementia United colleagues. The afternoon session focused on a structured self-assessment against the Greater Manchester dementia quality standards. This enable teams to identify strengths, gaps and priorities for their next phase of work.

Trafford continues to demonstrate its commitment to enhancing dementia care. The council and healthcare partners are currently refreshing their local dementia approach, ensuring it reflects the outcomes of this year’s workshop and remains aligned with regional priorities.

Notably, Trafford has made strong progress in improving diagnosis. Working with the memory assessment team and primary care the dementia diagnosis rate for people aged 65 and over increased from 66.4% in Jan 25 to 70.3% in November 2025, exceeding expectations and supporting earlier access to treatment and guidance.

Dementia is a major health priority, and there is a real, growing momentum to research medicines which can modify the progression of this disease, enhance the public awareness of prevention and embed practical support that improves quality of life for people and families now.

It’s so encouraging to see so many attend our group, especially those with lived experience and carers as well as professionals across our system, all with a shared interest in and motivation to improve dementia care in Trafford. We are reflecting on what has been achieved in 2025 with all your help and looking forward to setting priorities for 2026.  Liz Clarke, Dementia Clinical Lead for Trafford

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Mike was a retired RAF Pilot from Rochdale who had travelled all over the world. Mike and Liz, as highly respected speakers at clinical commissioning groups, patient participation groups, conferences and university events, contributed their knowledge and expertise with great generosity over many years.

After marrying in 1993, Liz and Mike worked together to set up and run a charity in Nicaragua, developing a network of trained primary care professionals and setting up pharmacies to deliver health care in deprived areas.

Later in life, as members of DCERG, they became involved in many projects shaping dementia services across the region. They were particularly interested in end of life care, post diagnostic support, delirium and transport. They took part in research into the impact of live music on the wellbeing of people living with dementia. They found that music cafes could help avoid isolation, bring a smile to their faces and keep the brain active.

Liz and Mike were also involved in an early detection project for Delirium and experienced first-hand the benefits of a quick diagnosis tool at Salford Royal.

Mike loved what he was involved with at Dementia United, it gave him so much hope for the next Mike and Liz. It gave him purpose and courage to face his illness and not let it define him. Liz Brookes

Liz and Mike shared the view that a diagnosis of dementia does not have to be the end of a journey, and that with the right support, many people can continue to live well, as they did for many years after Mike’s diagnosis.

Mike always acknowledged his diagnosis of Dementia and from the onset made advanced decisions with Liz. Mike was a special man who lived positively. Liz educated several professionals to help with the care of Mike and others with Dementia, a true legacy. Ruth Turner, chair of DCERG

Mike fought his dementia every step of the way, wanting to continue to do all the things he had always done, for as long as he could. I am so proud of his contributions to DU, honoured to have supported him – and blessed with some wonderful memories. Liz Brookes

Liz will continue play a key role as part of our dementia programme in Greater Manchester. And Mike’s legacy will continue to send a vital message of hope and friendship to everyone affected by dementia.

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Sarah Kirkland, Senior Project Manager at Dementia United, chaired a Greater Manchester Showcase. This featured a range of organisations who involve and work with experts by experience (people living with dementia and family carers). True co-production in action. Dementia United were joined by Sania Rehman (Team Sahara South Asian Project Greater Manchester) and Masood Ahmed Qureshi (Expert by Experience, Team Sahara.

As part of the Greater Manchester Showcase, Ruth Turner (Chair) and Ann Booth spoke passionately about meaningful co-production and the importance of the work of DCERG members.  Ruth highlighted their key role as equal partners in representing carers, informing strategic decisions and improving health outcomes.  As their presentation demonstrated, they make a difference!

Sarah then went on to chair the discussion following the keynote address by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester. Andy’s keynote ‘Redefining public service: Supporting people to live well with dementia in Greater Manchester’ showcased and celebrated Greater Manchester’s pioneering approach in providing great everyday support and services for people living with dementia, their families and carers. It also explored Greater Manchester’s whole system approach through the lenses of prevention, diversity and inclusion, and research and innovation and offered a vision for the future of public services both across the city-region and nationally.

DCERG members were very much in demand at #UKDC2025, taking part in, and leading several parallel sessions and workshops to an audience of over 500 across two days at Bridgewater Hall.

Jenny Harris co-presented the Tom Kitwood Memorial Address on The Art of Care:  How the study of care aesthetics reveals a new direction for person-centred practices in dementia care.  Jenny is the lead artist on the Care Aesthetics project at Manchester University and curator of the exhibition Our Long Goodbye an exhibition of photos, film and writing exploring a mother and daughter’s journey with Alzheimer’s

Leah Payne co-presented The World in One Shining Moment, with Dementia United’s academic advisor and NIHR ARC Dementia Research Fellow, Dr Sarah Fox. Their workshop focused on the meaningful everyday experiences (glimmers) which help people living with dementia to maintain connection with their own unique identities and to feel safe and connected in their environments. Attendees were encouraged to consider their own personal sensory and glimmer-focussed biographies, co-creating collages reflective of the sights, smells, sounds and experiences which bring them joy.

Kellie Leatherbarrow shared learning from the successful implementation of Living with Dementia Passport  as part of a wider session on dementia care in acute hospitals.  Dementia Passports contains salient points of information to improve communication during the transition of care, are patient centred and stay with an individual throughout their journey. They can be downloaded here.

Full details of the conference programme can be found here and for further information on any aspect of the Greater Manchester showcase, please contact sarah.kirkland@nhs.net

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The James Lind Alliance Delirium UK Priority Setting Partnership led by Professors Elizabeth Sampson and Emma Vardy are gathering questions from people with lived experience, carers, and Health and Social Care Professionals to identify the most important areas for future research.

Delirium can affect anyone who is seriously unwell — but older adults are most at risk.

It’s linked to serious outcomes including causes falls, longer hospital admissions, post-traumatic stress, nursing home placement, dementia and death.

Despite its impact, delirium is often overlooked. There are still many unanswered questions about how best to prevent, treat, and support those affected.

Shape the future of delirium research in the UK

• Open to UK residents aged 18+
•  Takes ~15 minutes
•  Option to stay involved or hear results

Help shape the future of research: Take part in the James Lind Alliance Delirium Survey Click here to take part  

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The course is aimed at clinicians such as nurses and allied health care professionals who have contact with people living with dementia in their working day. The training include classroom based training and simulation training using three scenarios looking at three different types of delirium, each with varying and different symptoms.  The teaching team includes an Admiral Nurse, frailty nurse, simulation officer and a volunteer acting as the patient.

During the simulation training the volunteer, acting as the patient, will act out different scenarios, covering the three different types of delirium. This gives participants the opportunity to apply the knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom based training and apply their critical thinking skills whilst responding to and complying with Trust values and policy:

• Gaining consent and capacity assessment with the ‘patient’ (initial introduction and taking physical observations)
• Constructing an assessment framework such as PINCH ME (Pain, Infection, Nutrition, Constipation, Hydration, Medication, Environment – a mnemonic used to teach clinical staff to look for obvious causes of delirium), 4AT assessment (a brief tool for delirium detection designed for use in clinical practice. It’s the standard tool for delirium detection in many countries.
• Looking at appropriate pain management (medicines assessment/ review to avoid constipation and sedation)
• Involvement of appropriate individuals (family/ carers) and appropriate use of the Getting to know me card (a card designed to be viewed by the bedside, containing some useful information about the person with dementia eg things that matter to the person, people who are important to them etc)
• Letting the ‘patient’ walk when they get up (walking with purpose vs restraint)
• Using the 4AT to determine new cognitive impairment

The clinicians who developed the training also developed a short video which is used a part of the training. The video looks at how to screen for and diagnose delirium and the Do’s and Don’ts in Delirium. It also includes the current screening for delirium in Bolton Hospital’s Emergency Department where all patients aged 65 or over are automatically screened for delirium ensure that the correct pathway is followed. The video is currently used in all types of teaching for various grades including nursing and medical staff. You can view the video here

As part of their visit the Singapore delegates visited Bolton Hospital to find out more about the training. They took part in creating a real life scenario that they might experience in practice but in a simulated setting. During the session they worked together to complete a full assessment and look after a patient with delirium.

The training to date has received very positive feedback and is currently the only one of a few simulation training programmes in Greater Manchester that focuses on delirium and dementia. Overall, ward managers and other colleagues who were spot checked a year they attended the training after felt that the training has improved their practice.

The feedback as part of the feedback for the simulation training has been very positive. It’s something very new for foundation trainees and it`s not the scenario they expect in simulation as they always suspect an emergency or a dying patient. It’s part of emphasising that delirium is a serious condition. They are surprised to hear the mortality is actually higher than myocardial infarction and sepsis. Dr Gopalakrishnan Deivasikamani, Consultant, Elderly Medicine, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

The hospital has noticed a marked increase in the “Getting to know me” cards being filled in and being placed on the patient’s bedside locker. There’s also been an increase in the number of clinical staff using 4AT.

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The issue came into sharper focus when the National Audit of Dementia identified our organisation as an outlier for three consecutive years. While the audit primarily measures delirium recognition and management in acute settings, it underscored the need for a more consistent, system-wide approach. Senior leaders recognised the urgency of the situation and took decisive action by creating a new role: Nurse Lead for Dementia and Delirium.

In July 2025, this commitment came to fruition with the launch of two new delirium pathways one for community services and one for hospital care. The pathways are comprehensive and include links to the GM delirium toolkits and related resources. Both were introduced during our inaugural Delirium Learning Event, a groundbreaking session designed to bring together multidisciplinary teams to share knowledge, best practice, and innovation. The event was such a success that it has now become a quarterly fixture in our calendar.

The three-hour learning event covers all aspects of delirium, from early recognition and prevention to management and post-delirium support. A key feature of the event is the group workshop, which enables staff to collaborate on developing practical ideas to improve patient outcomes. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating a clear increase in awareness and confidence in managing delirium across various clinical settings.

The Nurse Lead for Dementia and Delirium has been supported by two Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) based in the Frailty Unit and a Sister in the Emergency Department. These areas, often referred to as the “front door” of the hospital, are crucial in identifying and managing delirium early. Regular audits have been scheduled to monitor compliance and measure improvements in practice.

Our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) already had well-established guidelines for delirium management, but these had not been formalised into an organisational pathway. Work is now underway to develop an ITU-specific pathway aligned with national standards, ensuring a consistent approach across all care environments.

Some quick wins have already been achieved. Previously, staff lacked easy access to tools for assessing delirium. These resources are now widely available and actively used in practice. To support ongoing education, a short voice-recorded PowerPoint presentation has been developed and shared across clinical areas, allowing staff to access key learning in a flexible and engaging format. In addition, junior doctor training is now scheduled annually for each new intake to ensure they are familiar with the Trust’s delirium pathways from the outset.

While we recognise that there is still progress to be made, the foundations are firmly in place. We are optimistic that by the time of the National Audit of Dementia 2026, we will no longer be identified as an outlier—but rather as a Trust demonstrating excellence in delirium care.

Watch this space.

Kellie Smart, Dementia & Delirium Nurse Lead, Integrated Safeguarding Team, Tameside & Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

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You can find out how to get involved here: Young Onset Dementia Awareness Day, Dementia Forward, North Yorkshire’s leading dementia charity

Dementia UK and the Young Dementia Network have developed a young onset dementia care framework to help integrated care boards (ICBs) meet the unique needs of people with young onset dementia. The framework offers clear, evidence-based steps to deliver best practice care, including a gold standard care pathway providing guidance from diagnosis to end of life.

The framework can support care systems to deliver:

• faster, more accurate diagnoses
• integrated, age-appropriate support at every stage
• named young onset dementia leads within both the ICB and clinical services
• better outcomes and more efficient use of resources

You can view and download the Young Onset Dementia Framework here

During Dementia Action Week 2025 Manchester Women Together filmed an engaging conversation with Jacqui Cannon, Chief Executive of The Lewy Body Society, Dr Rebecca Marchmont and Sarah Kirkland, Senior Project Manager at Dementia United, who shared their personal and professional insights into young onset dementia. You can view the film here and find out more here

Working with a range of partners, stakeholders and lived experience members we’ve collated information from a range of external organisations for people affected by dementia in Greater Manchester, including people living with dementia, carers, and practitioners. The content includes resources about young onset and rarer forms of dementia. Young-Onset-and-Rarer-Forms-of-Dementia-Collated-National-Resources-October-2024.docx

The post Young Onset Dementia Awareness Day October 24th #YODA appeared first on Dementia United.

Working with colleagues across Greater Manchester we developed a month long clinical observer-ship and the team visited us 24^th February to 21^st March 2025. The visit was funded by the Singapore government.

We visited Greater Manchester to see how delirium is addressed across different care settings. We were particularly interested in how various care providers work together to improve delirium detection and management, from patients’ homes all the way to hospital care. Dr Lim Jun Pei, Consultant in Geriatric Medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital

The observer-ship focused on enabling the clinicians to learn how health and care services work together across Greater Manchester to improve delirium care. During their visit, the team spent time in GP practices, hospitals, and community settings including local voluntary sector groups, seeing first-hand how different services in Greater Manchester work together to detect and manage delirium effectively.

The visiting clinicians also had the invaluable opportunity to learn directly from people with lived experience of delirium, gaining a deeper understanding of the real-world impact of the condition and the support that makes a difference.

Our Singapore colleagues identified Greater Manchester as a beacon of good practice in delirium care.  It was a privilege to showcase the ongoing good work happening in our communities and our hospitals and enabled us to reflect on how much has been achieved over the last few years through the commitment and enthusiasm of locality teams.  We learned a lot from Dr Jun Pei Lim and the team, exchanging ideas for improvement, and plan to stay in contact and collaborate on projects in the future. Professor Emma Vardy, NHS GM Delirium Clinical Lead, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust Consultant Geriatrician and Frailty lead, Honorary Clinical Chair Manchester Academic Health Science Network at the University of Manchester

We undertook a detailed evaluation of the visit to gather feedback, experiences, impacts and any lessons learned.

The feedback from the Singapore delegates and all placement areas was extremely positive. The placement hosts really valued showcasing their work, seeing it as an opportunity to reflect on how much they have achieved working with us in Dementia United on the delirium programme.

Hosting the delegates was a very enjoyable and educational experience – this provided a platform for us to learn about their work, but also to learn more about work happening across disciplines within our own institution. Dr Sarah Fox, University of Manchester

The Singapore delegates felt inspired by the passion, innovation and partnership working that they observed in Greater Manchester, including the value of co-production with people with lived experience and have commenced several quality improvement programmes since being back in Singapore. This has included knowledge dissemination, workforce training with the development of an e-learning module for all registered nurses, which achieved 90% completion and received positive feedback. They have also used the insights from Greater Manchester’s geriatrician-led frailty pathway to develop a dedicated frailty workflow in their equivalent Hospital@Home, thereby improving clinical confidence and outcomes in managing complex, frail patients in the community.

Our visit to Greater Manchester was an enriching experience. We had the opportunity to learn from and exchange best practices with dedicated teams working to advance dementia care and improve the lived experiences of individuals with delirium. Our hosts were generous in sharing their insights and resources, and their passion for their work was truly inspiring. Since our return, we have shared our learnings across various platforms, generating valuable discussions within our institution on strengthening delirium management across different care settings. Dr Lim Jun Pei, Consultant, Geriatric Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore

Download the full evaluation report: Evaluation of the Singapore delirium clinical observer-ship hosted by Greater Manchester version FINAL

 The visiting clinicians had the invaluable opportunity to learn directly from people with lived experience of delirium, gaining a deeper understanding of the real-world impact of the condition and the support that makes a difference.

We also collated information about each visit with photos and quotes from the visiting team and their hosts

Download our communications round up report: Singapore Visit Communications Round Up May 2025

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The first event took place at Altrincham Town Hall, welcoming more than 500 local residents who had the opportunity to engage with a wide range of services and activities promoting wellbeing and inclusion for people living with dementia. Attendees also enjoyed a moving performance from The Vibrant Voices Choir, a group for people living with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke survivors, and their carers.

Sale Community Fire Station – August 2025

The second event was held on the August Bank Holiday Sunday, hosted by Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service at Sale Community Fire Station as part of their community open day.
Over 350 residents attended, enjoying a day filled with interactive activities, therapy ponies, specialist talks, and information on local dementia support.

Cross-Sector Collaboration

Across both events, over 25 exhibitors represented the NHS, Trafford Council, emergency services, voluntary and community organisations, and local businesses — offering valuable information about local dementia services and support options. This included care providers, community groups, health and wellbeing services, and legal and financial professionals.

Both events were supported by the South and Central Trafford Primary Care Networks (PCNs), who played an important role in raising awareness and engaging with local residents.

Recognising Local Leadership and Collaboration

These events were the result of genuine teamwork from a dedicated partnership group, including representatives from Home Instead (Altrincham, Sale and Wythenshawe), Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, the Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK Salford and Trafford, Care UK, Altrincham Healthcare Alliance, Sale PCN,   and the Trafford Carers Centre.

Special thanks to:

• Jonny Thomas, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, for his vision, time and dedication in making the Sale event possible.
• Dan Shelston, Trafford South and Central Neighbourhood Lead, for connecting partners and driving collaboration across the borough.
• Sian Steeples and the Home Instead team, for organising logistics, coordinating exhibitors, and working hard on publicity

These events showcased the power of partnership working and community engagement in supporting people affected by dementia. They demonstrated how local services and residents can come together to create inclusive spaces where everyone feels supported and informed.

Photographs from both events were kindly shared by Sian Steeples, capturing the enthusiasm and community spirit of the days.

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