Words by Daniel Casson, MD, Casson Consultancy

As a consultant in innovation in social care, I work alongside many professionals more qualified than me who recognise the urgent need for better dementia services. While we are beginning to realise the benefits of innovative technology to enhance professional services and policy frameworks, issues such as rising waiting times for memory clinics illustrate the strain on the system. However, England’s progress stands in stark contrast to experiences I have had recently in Abu Dhabi and Egypt.

Comparing these systems highlights how dementia care is shaped by culture, policy and resources, and why bridging the gap between available technology and accessible care is a global imperative. This article highlights my own aspirational views for a world where people living with dementia and their informal carers have access to timely and effective, local intervention to support them as appropriate.

England: towards integration

The structure in England is evolving, with neighbourhood health service hubs designed to embed dementia support into the health and care community fabric. The 10-Year Health Plan envisions multi-disciplinary teams with GPs, nurses, social workers, therapists and dementia specialists such as Admiral Nurses working six days a week to provide support which is local and timely.

A forthcoming Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, informed by the independent commission into adult social care (expected in 2026), promises rapid improvements in quality and productivity. Encouragingly, co-created care plans are becoming central to practice, signalling that coproduction is becoming fully embedded in the national psyche and the national conversation. 

Abu Dhabi: Private-driven progress

In Abu Dhabi, dementia care is advancing rapidly through specialist centres such as the Alzheimer’s Centre in Al Alfiya, hospital programmes like Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Brain Health Program, and services delivered by care home providers (mostly nursing services at home). In addition, newly built hospitals boast advanced imaging and neurological facilities.

Yet provision remains fragmented compared to England. Community-based dementia pathways are still developing, and the onus is on family-based care, reflecting cultural expectations: this means that official community support is sometimes lacking. Access to resources is shaped by private provision, which limits its impact on the whole community.

Egypt: Scarcity and Informal Care

Egypt (where I lived in the 1990s) presents a stark reminder of how poverty and limited state support can hinder dementia care. Without a national dementia strategy, families shoulder the majority of caregiving responsibilities, supported in ad hoc fashion by volunteer groups such as the Egyptian Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia Support Initiative, and technology adoption is rare.

One notable exception is the Al-Baqiyat Alzheimer’s Hospital, a charitable organisation pioneering state-of-the-art dementia support. Its growing recognition by the state offers hope, but systemic resource constraints remain the defining challenge.

Technology as a bridge

Across these contexts, technology emerges as a potential cost-effective response to support the growing numbers of people living with dementia and their carers as part of a strategy which gives formal and informal carers and technology appropriate roles. Technology is a common denominator that can help transform care:

• Smart sensors and AI-enabled environments: These track movement, detect falls, manage medication reminders, and maintain connectedness, providing carers with proactive alerts.
• Assistive AI companions: Voice assistants, therapeutic chatbots, and companionship tools are gradually being introduced, offering psychological benefit and cognitive support.
• Clinical tools: Early detection systems, smart homes, and AI companions are becoming embedded parts of the continuum of care, promoting independence, safety and dignity.

In Egypt and Abu Dhabi, such technologies remain sparse or fragmented. What unites all three contexts is the gap between available technology and accessible care.

Conclusion

The innovations being implemented in England (the early detection tools, smart homes, telehealth, and companion AI) should not be luxuries. They represent the best hope for enabling independence and quality of life for people living with dementia and their informal carers.

My hope is that developments here will not only improve dementia care locally but also lead to cost-effective models proving themselves so that countries such as those in the UAE and Egypt can adapt them to their own context. By uniting technology with community-based services, we have the potential to ensure wellbeing for people living with dementia and their families worldwide.

Daniel Casson will speak at the Care & Dementia Expo, taking place at the NEC in Birmingham on March 25-26.