Alzheimer's Society Annual Conference 2023

08.30am - 09.30am - Registration, exhibition and refreshments

09.30am - 09.45am - Welcome from our hosts, Trevor Salomon, Carer and Gina Airey, Living with dementia

09.45am - 10.00am - CEO Opening Address, Kate Lee, Chief Executive, Alzheimer's Society

10.00am - 10.40am - Getting diagnosis right for now and in the future

Why we need to future proof the diagnostic system now to ensure people can access the best innovations, support and treatments.

Chair: Prof Louise Robinson, Professor of Primary Care and Ageing. Regus Professor of Ageing, Newcastle University, Principal Investigator of PriDem

Speakers: Dr Charles Marshall, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Honorary Consultant Neurologist, Queen Mary University of London

Dr Paul Gilluley, Chief Medical Officer, North East London

Professor Paresh Malhotra, Professor of Clinical Neurology, Imperial College London

10.40am - 11.00am - Keynote Speech

11.00am - 11.30am - Refreshments, exhibition and networking

11.30am - 12.15pm - What do national strategies for dementia mean for local systems

In this session, National Dementia Leads will discuss current and future plans for national dementia strategies and how these could impact local systems.

Chair: Mark MacDonald, Associate Director of Advocacy and System Change, Alzheimer's Society

Speakers: Claire Murdoch CBE, National Mental Health Director, NHS England

Grace Reihill, Interim Social Care Lead for Dementia, Department of Health NI

12.15pm - 13.15pm - Choice of breakout sessions

13.15pm - 14.15pm - Lunch, exhibition and networking

14.15pm - 15.15pm - Choice of breakout sessions

15.15pm - 15.40pm - Refreshments, exhibition and networking

15.40pm - 16.25pm - Tackling inequalities in dementia diagnosis

Variation in diagnosis exists - clinically, culturally, and geographically. This session will explore how we manage the importance of diversity, reduce inequalities and ensure every person has equitable access to care and support.

Chair: Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing, Alzheimer's Society

Speakers: Michael Jackson, Programme Lead for Neurology and Dementia Intelligence, Department of Health and Social Care

Mike Parish, Former Carer

Prof Farooq Khan, Clinical Lead Dementia Midlands Clinical Network NHS England & Improvement Consultant Psychiatrist, Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Mohammed Akhlak Rauf MBE, Founder & Director, Meri Yaadain CiC

16.25pm - 16.45pm -  Keynote Speech

Speakers: John Suchet OBE and Nula Suchet, Alzheimer's Society Ambassadors

16.45pm - 17.00pm - Closing remarks from our hosts, Trevor Salomon, Carer and Gina Airey, Living with dementia

17.00pm - 18.00pm - Drinks Reception - singing from Our dementia Choir

12.15pm - 13.15pm - Parallel Session 1

1. How systems can improve the quality of a dementia diagnosis

We need everyone with dementia to access a diagnosis but we also need to ensure these are of a quality standard. A session hearing about how different local systems are changing how we think about dementia diagnosis.

Chair: Jennifer Keen, Head of Policy, Alzheimer's Society

Speakers: Alison Skea, Dementia Lead Nurse Consultant,  Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Victoria Nystrom-Marshall, Programme Manager, Transformation and Improvement Team, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust

Helen Pratt, Project Manager, Dementia United, Greater Manchester

Prof Farooq Khan, Clinical Lead Dementia Midlands Clinical Network NHS England & Improvement Consultant Psychiatrist, Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

2. How local dementia strategies can be developed to improve diagnosis and meet the needs of people affected by dementia

During this session we will hear examples of how dementia strategies have been developed in different areas. We will hear how Alzheimer’s Society can support the development of local dementia strategies and we will discuss the challenges faced and how these strategies can help systems to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.

Speakers: Michael Keenan, Living with dementia

Sheila Fletcher, Commissioning Manager, Mental Health and Vulnerable Adults, Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership

Luke Pickering Jones, Dementia Lead, Betsi Cadwaladr, Wales

3. How to work with people living with dementia to create a dementia pathway

A session led by people affected by dementia on co-creation; sharing tips, lessons learnt, importance of co-creation. How this could this be implemented in your local area.

Chair: Nigel Hullah, Chair of the 3 Nations Dementia Working group

Speakers: Marilyn William, Living with dementia

Paul Harvey, Lives with dementia and volunteers, Eamon Dobbyn, Living with dementia and Tim Little, Living with dementia

Chris Norris, Alzheimer's Society Ambassador & Kent Dementia Envoy

4. Emerging innovations in dementia diagnosis

This session will explore new emerging approaches to diagnosis from across the UK, and how they can positively change the future of diagnosis for people affected by dementia.

Speakers: Professor Gail Hayward Clinical Director, NIHR Community Healthcare MedTech and IVD Cooperative

Dr Julie-Anne Little, Senior Lecturer in Optometry and Vision Science, University of Ulster

Dr Imre Lengyel, Reader, Queen’s University Belfast

14.15pm - 15.15pm - Parallel Session 2

5. Living well - the importance of personalised, needs-led post-diagnostic support from local systems

A session exploring local examples of person-centred care and support services and the impact they have on people living with and affected by dementia.

Chair: Charlotte Carp, Programme Manager - National Ambitions Programme and Sally Tabbner, CEO, Dementia Support

Speakers: Heather Collin, Community Engagement Lead, Home Instead Flintshire and Wrexham

Ryan Tyler, Local Services Manager;  Becca Diba, Evaluation Officer and Priya Bhawaneedin, Dementia Advisor, Alzheimer's Society

6. Hope alongside diagnosis

A session led by people affected by dementia about life after a diagnosis. Including examples of the impact of involvement in enabling acceptance and growth of people with dementia after diagnosis.

Chair: Anita Goundry, Living with dementia

Speakers: Ian Deakin, Living with dementia

Dr Joy Watson, Living with dementia, Member of 3 Nations Dementia Working Group

Patrick I J Ettenes, Lived Experience Advisor & Co-Founder of Bring Dementia Out

Chris Roberts, Chairperson of the European Working Group of People with Dementia

Hilary Doxford, Living with dementia, Member of the 3 Nations Dementia Working Group

Creative contributions from Martina Davies, Living with dementia, Member of 3 Nations Dementia Working Group, Julie Hayden Living with dementia, Member of 3 Nations Dementia Working Group and Keith Oliver Alzheimer's Society Ambassador

7. Innovation ideas workshop - Hosted by Alzheimer's Society Innovation Team

Join our interactive ideas session on diagnosis from Alzheimer's Society Innovation team! We will work together, through various innovation exercises, to co-create ideas and solutions for some of the big challenges faced in this space. Ahead of this session, we will be sharing a link to our online Innovation Hub for you to share your biggest challenge areas around dementia diagnosis and local systems.

8. Addressing the main barriers to diagnosis

In October 2022, Alzheimer's Society held three roundtables on dementia diagnosis across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, bringing together key stakeholders across the diagnostic pathway. This session will explore the consensus made on the foremost barriers to diagnosis and how Alzheimer's Society will influence national and local decision-makers to improve dementia care.

Chair: Jennifer Keen, Head of Policy, Alzheimer's Society

Speakers: Prof Louise Robinson, Professor of Primary Care and Ageing. Regus Professor of Ageing, Newcastle University, Principal Investigator of PriDem

Dr Jen Roberts, Research Officer, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University

In person: £199

Virtual: £99

In person: £299

Virtual: £140

In person: £70

Virtual: £30

In person: £70

Please note: Carers attending to support a person with dementia can attend free of charge

Virtual: £30

We recognise the challenges we continue to face during the current global pandemic. Our decisions are always driven by the impact on people affected by dementia, the health and well-being of our staff, volunteers, partners, speakers and delegates.

We will be holding this conference in person, however we will be working in line with the government guidance and restrictions at the time. We will continue to monitor and review the policies and procedures we have in place in accordance with government and public health guidance. We will continue to update our attendees to any changes or considerations that will need to be put in place as part of these restrictions.

The conference is being held at the Park Plaza Victoria Hotel in London. The address is:

239 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 1EQ, United Kingdom

We will be inviting local leaders in dementia, local government and authorities, policy makers, professional bodies, health and social care professionals, government representatives, people with an association to dementia.

Yes, early bird registration will open on Tuesday 3 January with virtual registration opening a little later. 

In person attendees will receive lunch, post reception drinks and visits to our exhibition stands. 

Online attendees will be able to view and interact with sessions, and connect with our exhibitors on our conference app. 

There is a discount for those registering from Tuesday 3 January up to and including Tuesday 31 January. 

10 per cent discount for 3-4 people.
15 per cent discount for 5 people and above.
The discount will be automatically applied to your booking.

Students receive a reduced rate if they are in full-time education. Students will be required to show a valid student card on arrival at the conference. 

At Alzheimer’s Society Annual Conference 2023 we will charge people affected by dementia a reduced registration fee of £70. Charging for people affected by dementia (PABD) is in line with key dementia conferences (ADI, Dementia Congress). The conference aims to influence key members of the health and social care and local and national government. The registration fee is designed to dissuade members of the general public not in the target audience from attending, in order to maintain achievement of these aims.

We have assigned the reduced fee of £70 to PABD as this will cover the basic costs associated with a delegate attending the conference. This is primarily the per person cost Alzheimer’s Society is liable to cover for each delegate.  Our Annual Conference takes place in London to ensure we can welcome members of national government and is such is a costly endeavour for the Society. We are required therefore to ensure we recoup costs in every way possible. Other income sources include sponsorship of the event, exhibition fees and ticket sales.

People with dementia will be able to bring a carer to the conference at no additional cost.

Voluntary / Public sector - Third sector, charities, not-for-profits, small medium Enterprises, Community Interest Companies, NHS, Local Government, Central Government, Universities, Councils and other Public Sector Organisations

Private sector - Commercial and profit-making organisations.

When placing your booking you can either pay by credit or debit card (Visa and MasterCard only) via the booking system.

We prefer you to pay by Credit or debit card, if you are unable to do so please email the Conference and Events team at [email protected] to request this option. Please note an admin fee of £20 will be added to your invoice due to the admin and staff time involved in processing the invoice. 

This option is not available.

You will receive an email confirmation once you have completed your registration. You will not be able to attend the conference unless payment is made.

Yes, the deadline for BACS transfer and invoice payments is 14 days before the conference date Thursday 4 May.

Cancellations received up to and including 18 April 2023 – full refund of registration fee

Cancellations received between 18 April – 2 May 2023 – 50% refund of registration fee

Cancellations received after 3 May 2023 will not receive a refund.

Please note if you paid for the conference via our invoicing process, you will receive a refund of the registration fee as above, minus the administration fee of £20. 

Yes, use the link in your email to login to your booking. Click ‘Modify’ to amend your booking. You can submit payment, amend your session choices and change answers to the registration questions. The deadline for amending bookings is Monday 2 May.

Unfortunately, only one place per speaker is complimentary.

Yes, use the link in your email to login to your booking. Click ‘Substitute Registrant’ and enter the details of the person who will attend in your place. The deadline for substitutions is Monday 1 May.

We will be using a booking system which will allow attendees to pre-book sessions at the conference. You will be asked to select your sessions when booking your place at the conference. 

We will aim to get a copy of presentations from each speaker to be available after the event. These will be found on our webpages in the days following but as this is at the discretion of the speaker we cannot guarantee all will be available.

No, delegate lists will not be available. We will include delegate information on our conference App that delegates have chosen to share only. 

Once our exhibitors are confirmed they will be detailed on our conference webpage and App.

For all exhibition enquiries and opportunities please contact [email protected]. 

Please ensure you indicate your requirements when registering for the event and we will accommodate these on the day.

The dress code for the conference will be smart/casual.

The conference will start at 9.00am for registration, exhibition and refreshments. The conference will close at 5pm, there will be a drinks reception at this time to end the day.

Yes, lunch and refreshments will be served at the appropriate times.

Yes, there will be a quiet room to use which will be clearly signposted. Delegates will be advised the location of the quiet room on arrival at the conference.

Yes, there will be a quiet room for you to use. Please let us know when you arrive at the conference so we can direct you to the room.

Yes, there will be a quiet room for you to use. Please let us know when you arrive at the conference so we can direct you to the room.

Yes, you will be given the wi-fi network and access password on arrival. 

Yes, there is wheelchair access and a lift available to all floors. 

The venue has no parking available on site.

Yes, the venue accepts guide dogs.

We are planning on holding the Annual Conference at capacity of 350 people, however the venue has space for 500 delegates so we will have extra space available. We will of course update delegates to any changes or considerations that will need to be put in place as part of the governments most current guidance.