Government must keep its promise on dementia research
Published: 19/01/2022
It’s no secret the Government is going through a torrid time at the moment, with the controversy surrounding ‘party-gate’ showing no signs of waning.
It seems media attention is focused almost entirely on the daily twists and turns of this particular sorry saga, with other pressing issues falling by the wayside.
Take dementia research. In its 2019 manifesto the government promised to double spending in this area. In fact, total research spend on dementia dropped from £112.9million in 2018/19 to £104.7m in 2019/20.
There are 900,000 people with dementia in the UK, including more than 39,000 in the North East. And by 2025 there will be one million, so now is not the time to be cutting back on research and development.
Alzheimer’s Society firmly believes that research will beat dementia, but we need more funding to understand what causes the condition, develop effective treatments, improve care and one day find a cure.
After Covid-19, dementia was the leading cause of death in the UK in 2020, and we owe it to those currently living with it – and their families – to understand the condition better, so that they can live better.
Sadly, there are currently no treatments that can stop or slow down the progression of the diseases that cause dementia available in the UK.
However, dementia research – despite chronic underfunding – had been gradually gaining momentum and starting to deliver exciting results.
Without investment, this could grind to a halt and threaten much-needed new therapies, diagnostic tests and care provision.
And yet, two years since the Government’s promise to double dementia research funding, nothing has happened.
This is why Alzheimer’s Society is renewing its call on Government to honour its commitment to double dementia research funding and rescue the hopes of dementia research.
- Ken Oxley is the Media Officer for Alzheimer’s Society in the North East, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Ken Oxley
Media Officer
North East, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
Alzheimer’s Society
07874 886222
