Dementia ‐ putting people at the centre

In the last couple of years, the government has made dementia a policy priority and 2008 has seen the publication of the first ever national dementia strategy for England. Here, Toby Williamson describes the challenge posed by dementia in that context, but also reports on some initiatives that give a voice to people with dementia, partly to challenge some of the ways that dementia is referred to, and to improve their lives in quite practical ways.