A new Hampshire & Isle of Wight Dementia Alliance has opened its doors this week, promising to reshape how dementia care is delivered across two of southern England’s most populous regions. The initiative brings together people living with dementia, unpaid carers, community groups and NHS trusts to tackle long-standing gaps in access, coordination and service quality.

Brogan Rehill, Head of Strategy, Partnerships and Community Impact at Age Concern Hampshire and alliance spokesperson, confirmed the launch during Dementia Awareness Week. “We are no longer accepting fragmented care as the norm,” Rehill said. “This alliance is about turning isolated pockets of good practice into a region-wide movement.” The coalition’s immediate priorities include mapping every dementia support service in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and creating a single online portal for signposting.

Local health leaders say the alliance responds directly to a surge in diagnoses driven by an aging population. Between 2019 and 2023, dementia diagnoses in Hampshire rose by 18%, while the Isle of Wight saw a 22% increase—both above the national average. “The system was never built to handle this volume,” admitted Dr. Eleanor Voss, Clinical Director at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. “We need a new model—one that starts with the person, not the service.”

Community engagement is already underway, with pop-up clinics in Portsmouth, Southampton and Ryde offering free memory assessments and advice. The alliance has also secured £250,000 in seed funding from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board to pilot peer-led support groups in five towns by the end of July.

Volunteers with lived experience of dementia are being trained as “Dementia Champions” to lead awareness sessions in libraries, supermarkets and places of worship. One of the first, retired teacher Margaret Cooke, 72, from Eastleigh, said: “I spent three years trying to find a singing group for my husband after his diagnosis. It shouldn’t take that long.”

Critics point out that funding remains uncertain beyond the pilot phase, with no long-term commitment from central government. But alliance leaders insist this is just the beginning. “This isn’t a quick fix,” said Rehill. “It’s a cultural shift—one that puts the person with dementia at the heart of every decision.”

• 📊 74% of alliance partners report increased confidence in local dementia care following launch
• 🔍 Memory assessment waiting lists have dropped by 15% in pilot areas within two weeks
• ⚠️ Only 40% of GPs in the region have attended dementia training—gap the alliance aims to close by 2026

The alliance’s first public report is due in December, with full service rollout expected by spring 2025. Residents are urged to share their experiences via the new portal or at one of the alliance’s weekly drop-in sessions across the region.