We rightly all want a society where every person with dementia, their families and carers receive high-quality, compassionate care, from diagnosis through to end of life.
You may be aware I helped care for my father for many years after he suffered a devastating brain injury so I do appreciate what a huge difference the right support can make to those individuals in need as well as to their families. That is why I have pledged to take action to make dementia the political priority it needs to be.
It is so absolutely vital that, in each case, different agencies work to connect health and social care services, especially in relation to those with complex and nursing care needs, such as those with dementia. This includes information on local services and access to relevant advice and support on what happens next.
Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including carers, under the Care Act 2014. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision of dementia care services, and NHS England expects ICBs to commission services based on local population needs. It is for individual ICBs to distribute funding at a local level.
Alongside this, timely diagnosis is essential to ensure that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care and support to maintain independence and quality of life for as long as possible. Sadly, due to the impact of the pandemic, the estimated dementia diagnosis rate fell below the national target for the first time since 2016. In 2021-22, £17 million was made available to Clinical Commissioning Groups to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses.
In December 2022, the recovery of the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7 per cent was included in the NHS priorities and operational planning guidance as part of the refined mental health objectives for 2023/24. This reinforced dementia as a key priority for NHS England and provides a clear direction for integrated care boards to support delivery of timely diagnoses within systems. The estimated dementia diagnosis rate has been increasing throughout 2023 and in October reached 64.5 per cent.
There are currently circa 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK, projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040, so research is crucial to understanding the condition and improving outcomes for those affected.
As a Party we are strongly committed to supporting research into dementia and have committed to doubling the funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by the end of 2024-25. Government delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and in 2022/23, the most recent year we have data for, we estimate that the total Government spend on dementia research was £96.9 million.
Government via the NIHR has instigated momentous new programmes of work, such as investing almost £50million over five years into the NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration Trial Network which will expand the United Kingdom’s early phase clinical trial capabilities in dementia, speeding up the development of new treatments.
The Dementia Translational Research Collaboration also plays a critical role in coordinating UK dementia research and the NIHR Clinical Research Network Dementias and Neurodegeneration Specialty supports patients, the public and health and care organisations across England to participate in dementia research spanning the full translational research pathway.
In the Autumn Statement 2023, the Chancellor announced that the Government is launching the first Clinical Trials Delivery Accelerator (CTDA) focused on dementia, with up to £20 million of the £121 million funding announced for clinical trials. A new taskforce, as part of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission – made up of industry, the NHS, academia and families affected by dementia – has been formed to lead this work to allocate dementia funding.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research has also launched a number of new initiatives to support dementia research, such as investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.
Finally, I am greatly encouraged by the clinical trial results for Lecanemab and Donanemab, the first drugs of their kind to demonstrate a reduction in the rate of decline in people's memory and thinking in clinical trials. These findings will bring hope to the many thousands of people affected by dementia. Research conducted and funded by medical research charities is critical to discovering new treatments and interventions for diseases like dementia, and I congratulate Alzheimer's Research for the work that has led to these findings. Whilst I understand trials are still ongoing at this time, I genuinely hope these can be brought forward to benefit those diagnosed with dementia.
Should I be elected as the MP for the East Grinstead & Uckfield constituency, I will continue to support constituents to raise the profile of the need to continue research into this devastating condition alongside calling for vital funding to support those impacted in our communities.
