Alzheimer’s Research UK Takes Dementia Research Campaign To Party Conferences

Alzheimer’s Research UK has used this year’s party conference season to press politicians to make dementia research a national priority and to prepare the NHS for future treatments.

The charity’s Public Affairs team attended five conferences in England: Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, Labour, the Greens and the Conservatives. Its message at each was that dementia research must be a national priority and that the NHS must be ready for a cure.

The team met Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper MP, along with health spokespeople for opposition parties. It also met more than 15 other MPs, advisers and stakeholders. The charity credited thousands of supporters who wrote to their MPs with helping to secure the meetings.

The charity said conversations across all five conferences shared a long-term outlook. Themes included strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in research and innovation, improving the nation’s health, social care reform and using digital technology to drive innovation in the NHS.

The visits were used to promote the charity’s new Ready for a Cure campaign, which sets out the practical steps it says are needed for the health system to turn scientific progress into real-world benefits. The charity says research is bringing earlier and more accurate diagnosis, better support for people affected by dementia and treatments that could change the course of the diseases that cause it.

Government funding

The charity pointed to the Prime Minister’s announcement of £48 million to accelerate dementia research and improve access to clinical trials, which it described as encouraging progress following years of campaigning. Its chief executive, Hilary Evans-Newton CBE, met Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the Innovation Nation Summit on Friday 9 October.

The charity said more must be done to ensure the NHS can deliver new diagnostic tools and treatments. With Parliament back and the Autumn Budget approaching, it said it is focused on turning conference discussions into action.

What the charity wants

More than 13,000 people have signed the charity’s petition calling on the Government to get the NHS ready for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The charity is asking ministers to:

• Test: deliver a national plan to bring new dementia tests into the NHS
• Trial: connect more people with dementia to clinical trials
• Treat: establish a Dementia Drugs Fund so new treatments can be made available while evidence on their use in the NHS is gathered

The petition can be found here