72% back an 18-week limit on dementia diagnosis waits, poll finds

One ask, timed for budget day

Alzheimer's Society published polling on 28 October 2026, the day of the Autumn budget, that puts one demand ahead of the rest, according to the charity: no one should wait more than 18 weeks for a dementia diagnosis. 72% back that limit (opens in a new tab), according to the polling commissioned for the charity.

The same target is now being pressed in Parliament. A cross-party letter from MPs asks the Health Secretary to write it into the government's forthcoming Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty.

If it goes in, the question for councils, the NHS and care providers moves on from how many people have a diagnosis to how quickly they get one, and what support follows. That is a different test, and a harder one.

Faster diagnosis tops the charity's poll

In the same polling for Alzheimer's Society, 42% put early, accurate diagnosis within 18 weeks among their top three priorities (opens in a new tab) for government action on dementia. The charity describes this as the public's number one dementia priority.

Support for spending is wider still. 79% back more government investment in dementia, according to the same polling, and most think it should be funded on a similar footing to conditions such as cancer. 44% would be more likely to vote for a party that committed extra funding to dementia, the poll found.

Alzheimer's Society says it campaigns (opens in a new tab) for everyone referred by a GP to get a diagnosis, a care plan and, where appropriate, treatment within 18 weeks.

What a two-year wait costs a family

Paul Kemp, from Kent, told the charity it took "more than two years" to get a diagnosis for his wife Sandra, who lives with Alzheimer's disease. Her symptoms worsened while they waited, and both of them eventually left their jobs.

Alzheimer's Society chief executive Michelle Dyson described dementia as "the UK's biggest killer" and called on the government to match public ambition with investment in diagnosis, treatment and support.

One campaign, on two fronts

Conservative MP Alan Mak is among the MPs behind the letter to the Health Secretary, The News, Portsmouth reported (opens in a new tab). The letter is reported as backed by Alzheimer's Society, so this is one campaign pushing the same target in public and in Parliament, rather than two independent voices.

The poll also comes from the organisation making the case. No pollster, sample size, fieldwork dates or national coverage have been given with the figures, so they show the direction of opinion clearly but not its exact size.

The ask builds on a target already met. Our piece on the record number of people in England with a dementia diagnosis set out why the charity now wants waiting times to be the next measure.

Will research money pay for what follows a diagnosis?

The poll comes weeks after the Prime Minister made dementia research a national priority, backed by a new national taskforce. The charity welcomes that but argues it is not enough on its own: the government must also fund faster diagnosis and support after diagnosis now.

That support is where adult social care comes in. A faster diagnosis only helps if a care plan and help come with it, and who would pay for that has not yet been set out.

Whether ministers have responded to the letter or to the charity is not known. The test is the framework itself: will it name a maximum wait, and will it fund the support that should follow a diagnosis?