164: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill - Episode 164164: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill - Episode 164
UK Health Radio Podcast
Pete Hill talks with Dr Cale Stokes from Dementia Australia about diagnosis challenges, tech-based education, stigma, risk reduction and including people with dementia in shaping services. The conversation compares experiences in Australia and the UK while questioning how societies can better support those affected.
37:31•17 Apr 2026
The ‘D’ Word: Dementia, Technology and Real Talk with Dr Cale Stokes
Episode Overview
- Dementia pathways remain confusing and fragmented, with many people receiving a diagnosis but little guidance on how to live well afterward.
- Geography and service gaps mean people in rural and remote areas face extra barriers to assessment, diagnosis and support.
- Experiential technology such as virtual reality can shift attitudes by giving carers and families a first-hand sense of dementia’s day-to-day impact.
- People living with dementia can and should be involved in decision-making and governance, rather than being sidelined once diagnosed.
- Clear, responsible messaging on risk factors and brain health is needed, without implying blame or ignoring the role of age, genetics and other conditions.
“"If you get it right for dementia, you get it right for everyone."”
What insights can experts and survivors share about addiction and related health challenges? This time the focus is firmly on dementia, with host Pete Hill chatting to Dr Cale Stokes, Executive Director of Services, Engagement and Research at Dementia Australia. Across their conversation, you’ll hear how dementia support in Australia faces many of the same hurdles as in the UK: late diagnosis, confusing systems, and services that are hard to join up.
Cale explains that people are still too often told to "go home and get their affairs in order", despite there being so much that can help them live well after diagnosis. Cale talks through the extra challenge of reaching people spread across a vast country, especially in rural and remote areas. He also shares how Dementia Australia is using virtual reality to give families and professionals a chance to step into the shoes of someone living with dementia.
As he puts it, once you’ve had that "aha moment", "you can’t unexperience it" – and it changes how you treat people. The chat also covers dementia-friendly communities, and why people living with dementia must be in the room and at the decision-making table. Cale highlights their advisory committee made up entirely of people with dementia, showing that diagnosis does not automatically remove a person’s ability to contribute.
Risk reduction comes under the spotlight too: how do you talk about lifestyle factors without implying blame, and how do you get younger people to care about brain health now? Cale argues that if public health messages mention dementia alongside other chronic conditions, more people might pay attention.
If dementia touches your life, or you support others through alcohol or addiction recovery and want to understand cognitive health better, this conversation offers a grounded, honest look at what’s working, what’s missing, and why talking openly about "the D word" matters so much. What changes could you make today to make life easier for someone living with dementia?
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