Manchester brain health centre aims to transform dementia care after opening as UK's first one-stop diagnostic hub
From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026 · last updated 22 September 2026.
The newly opened Manchester Brain Health Centre is setting its sights on overhauling how dementia is diagnosed and prevented, with clinicians and researchers describing ambitions to fundamentally change a system that currently leaves patients waiting an average of three and a half years from first symptoms to formal diagnosis. Around one million people in the UK live with dementia, yet a third have no formal diagnosis — leaving them unable to access treatment or support. The two-year pilot, led by the Alzheimer's Society with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, offers same-day MRI scans, lumbar punctures and heart health checks designed to dramatically accelerate a process that currently takes an average of three and a half years from first symptoms.
Dementia research lead Dr Ross Dunne said the system is 'not set up for people when memory and thinking problems first appear' — exactly when treatment matters most.
If the pilot succeeds, the model is designed to be scaled nationally, potentially transforming dementia care for every NHS patient in England.
Alzheimer's Society chief executive Michelle Dyson said dementia is 'the UK's biggest killer, but it is not an inevitable part of ageing.'