With just one week to go until the Care Innovation Summit, leaders across health and social care are preparing to explore the ideas shaping the future of the sector. One of the key voices leading this conversation is David Wilson-Wynne, Director of Innovare Dementia Consultancy, and Chair of the Dementia Care stream at the summit.
In a recent exclusive interview, David shared his perspective on how dementia care has evolved, what truly person-led practice looks like, and the role innovation will play in the years ahead. For those attending the summit, this is just a snapshot of the deeper insights he will be sharing – making now the time to book your place.
As someone who has worked extensively across health and social care, what changes have you seen in the sector’s approach to dementia care over the years, and where do you think further progress is still needed?
Over the years, I’ve seen dementia care move from a predominantly task-focused and medically driven model towards a more relational and human approach. There is now far greater recognition that a diagnosis of a dementia is not simply about memory loss, but about identity, communication, emotional wellbeing, environment, inclusion, and the experience of the individual behind the diagnosis. Conversations around rights, lived experience, trauma-informed practice, meaningful engagement, and environmental design have become much more visible across health and social care, which is incredibly positive.
We are also seeing more emphasis placed on the importance of relationships, continuity, rehabilitation, inclusion, and supporting people to maintain abilities rather than focusing solely on decline. The physical environment has also become a much bigger part of the conversation. Evidence-informed dementia design is now rightly recognised as a major non-pharmacological intervention. There is growing understanding that lighting, acoustics, contrast, familiarity, movement, access to outdoors, and legibility of space can directly influence confidence, independence, stress, and wellbeing for people living with a dementia.
However, despite progress, I still believe there are significant areas where we need to improve.
Firstly, we still too often talk about person-centred care while continuing to deliver service-led care. For me, the future must be genuinely person-led. That means moving beyond simply involving people in decisions and instead creating systems, environments, and cultures where people living with a dementia retain as much control, choice, consistency, and confidence as possible. Person-led support is not a project or a slogan. It is a position.
Secondly, language remains a major issue. The words we use shape attitudes, expectations, and practice. Terms such as “compliance,” “management,” or even reducing someone to “dementia” rather than understanding the type of dementia and the person’s lived experience can unintentionally dehumanise. We still have work to do in creating truly inclusive and respectful language across practice, education, policy, and documentation.
There has absolutely been progress, and many passionate professionals are driving meaningful change. But I think the next evolution of dementia care is about moving from good intentions to truly inclusive, evidence-informed, person-led cultures where people are not simply cared for, but genuinely supported to live with dignity, identity, purpose, and control.
In your view, what does truly person-led dementia care look like in practice, and why is it so important for the future of the sector?
For me, true person led practice means moving beyond doing things for people and instead working with people in a way that protects identity, autonomy, and control for as long as possible. It is about recognising that a person living with a dementia is still an individual with preferences, emotions, relationships, values, strengths, and the right to direct their own life – even when communication, cognition, or function changes over time.
In practice, person-led support is how we communicate, how we respond to unmet need, how flexible routines are, how environments enable independence, and whether people feel they still have influence over their day-to-day lives. It means understanding the person beyond the diagnosis, recognising that care should adapt to the individual – not the individual adapting to the system and not viewing dementia as a biographical condition. By this, I mean, it is only past experiences that inform “care”. Instead of recognising that as human being, we evolve, change our minds and our identities do not remain static.
Good dementia support is not just about care interactions; it is about design, culture, leadership, communication, and organisational values. Environments should help people navigate spaces confidently, access meaningful activity naturally, maintain relationships, and experience everyday life in ways that still feel familiar and purposeful.
Importantly, person-led support does not mean removing all risk or assuming people cannot make decisions. Some of the most important parts of life involve choice, autonomy, spontaneity, and personal preference.
For the future of the sector, I believe this approach is essential because expectations are changing. People living with a dementia and families increasingly expect support that is individualised, rights-based, relationship-focused, and enabling. They do not want institutional models that prioritise routines over people. Person-led practice is critical because dementia care is becoming increasingly complex. We are supporting people living longer, often with multiple health conditions, different types of dementia, trauma histories, sensory changes, and diverse life experiences. Standardised approaches simply do not work well in complex human situations. Person-led practice allows flexibility, responsiveness, and creativity in how support is delivered.
As Chair of the Dementia Care stream at the Care Innovation Summit, what conversations or ideas are you hoping delegates will take away from the sessions and discussions throughout the day?
As Chair of the Dementia Care stream at the Care Innovation Summit, I hope delegates leave with a stronger sense that dementia care cannot stand still. The sector is evolving, and our approaches, environments, language, education, and leadership need to evolve with it. I want people to leave reflecting not only on what we do in dementia care, but why we do it, and whether current systems genuinely support people to live with dignity, identity, and control.
One of the biggest conversations I hope emerges throughout the day is the shift from service-led care towards truly person-led support. For me, that is one of the most important discussions in the sector right now. I hope delegates challenge themselves to think critically about whether practice genuinely enables choice, consistency, confidence, and control for people living with a dementia.
I also hope people leave with a deeper appreciation of the role environment, culture, and communication play in outcomes for people living with a dementia. Good dementia care is often found in the relational and human aspects of practice that can sometimes be overlooked in busy systems.
Another key area I hope delegates take away is the importance of innovation being meaningful. Innovation should not just mean new technology or new models on paper. It should mean improving real experiences for people, families, and staff. Sometimes the most impactful innovation is not high-tech at all – it is rethinking culture, empowering staff, improving environments, strengthening relationships, or creating opportunities for connection and purpose.
I would also like delegates to leave feeling more confident to challenge outdated thinking within the sector. Most importantly, I hope people leave inspired. There are so many passionate individuals across health, social care, design, research, housing, and community services who are driving positive change. Bringing those perspectives together creates opportunities to learn from one another and rethink what the future of dementia care could and should be.
For me, the overall message is simple: dementia practice should never become task-focused to the point where we lose sight of the person. Innovation, evidence, education, and leadership only matter if they improve lived experience. That is the conversation I hope delegates continue long after the summit finishes.
Looking ahead, what role do you think innovation will play in shaping a more inclusive and effective future for dementia care across the sector?
Innovation will play a critical role in shaping the future of dementia care – but only if we remain clear about what innovation should actually achieve. True innovation in dementia care should improve lived experience, strengthen inclusion, support relationships, and enable people living with a dementia to maintain greater control, confidence, and connection in everyday life.
I think one of the most important shifts will be moving away from purely reactive models of care towards approaches that are more preventative, enabling, and person-led. Innovation gives us opportunities to rethink how we support people much earlier, how we design communities and environments, how we reduce stress and distress, and how we help people remain connected to their identity, interests, and relationships for longer.
Technology does have an important role, but it has to remain human-centred. There is huge potential in digital tools, assistive technology, artificial intelligence, remote support, and data-informed care systems to improve access to support and personalise care. However, technology should never replace human connection, relationships, or compassionate practice. The danger is that innovation becomes efficiency-focused rather than experience-focused. The best innovation should strengthen humanity within care, not reduce it.
Ultimately, I believe the future of dementia care will belong to organisations and professionals who understand that innovation is not about doing more to people – it is about enabling people to live more fully. The most effective innovation will be the kind that protects personhood, values lived experience, strengthens relationships, and creates systems that are flexible enough to see the individual rather than just the diagnosis.
For me, that is where the future of dementia care needs to go: not simply smarter systems, but more human systems.
Don’t Miss These Insights at the Care Innovation Summit
With the Care Innovation Summit now just a week away, these conversations are more important than ever. The sector is evolving rapidly, and leaders must be ready to embrace person-led practice and meaningful innovation.
David Wilson-Wynne’s insights offer a powerful glimpse into what the future of dementia care could look like. To explore these ideas in more depth and be part of the discussion shaping the sector, book your ticket to Care Innovation Summit.
