Dementia Research in the UK — House of Commons, 2022-02-10
Topic: Health
Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): Thank you In 2017, the UK Government declared that the UK would be the most dementia- friendly country in the world by 2020. [Interruption.] The Minister nods his head, but unfortunately we know that that is not true: just look at the hundreds of dementia care homes in England that were discovered to be providing substandard care to their dementia patients A Care Quality Commission report found that one in every five homes specialising in dementia were rated as "inadequate" or "requiring improvement". Some posed such a serious risk to people with dementia—because of filthy living conditions, poor infection control and poorly trained staff—that inspectors had to order them to be put into special measures. In total, 1,636 care homes are failing patients, according to findings described as "appalling" by charities and campaigners. They stated that immediate action was required to address the "unacceptable" state of dementia care across the country If we are to position the UK as the world leader in dementia—something we all want to see—we should not start by cutting the much-needed funding that was promised by the Government for dementia research. As we have heard, the 2019 Conservative party manifesto committed to address dementia by pledging to double funding for dementia research to more than £160 million per year. However, two years later and another broken promise later, we find ourselves in the same situation, with no plans from the Government to deliver on their manifesto pledge. The funding for dementia research for 2020 was £75.7 million—a decrease from £82.5 million in 2019 and from the high of £98.1 million in 2016 What else do we need to say to persuade the Government to recognise the importance of funding dementia research in trials? Currently we have over 150 clinical trials worldwide examining potential dementia treatments. It is more pressing than ever that we can transform dementia diagnosis. We need early diagnosis of the diseases that cause dementia and we need to diagnose them more accurately; otherwise it will be too late for patients to benefit from potential new treatments. The Government should invest now in infrastructure, resources and the clinical workforce to build diagnostic capacity and support innovative ways of organising NHS services such as brain health clinics to offer new diagnostic pathways. I look forward to the Minister outlining how the Government intend to achieve that The Scottish Government have proven our commitment to dementia research with a one-off £75 million increase in funding for our universities to ensure that they can protect world-leading research programmes against the financial impacts of covid-19. That is exactly how we protect those we care about and those who care for us. The current prevalence rate of dementia among older people in the UK is about 7.1%, and of the four countries Scotland has the lowest prevalence rate, with England having the highest overall prevalence rate. With the growing trend and threat of dementia to our citizens, it is now time for this Government to act and to outline a proper plan to help combat the threat of dementia across these nations, with the goal of preventing people from developing the onset of dementia The UK Government can follow in the footsteps of Scotland and become the world leader in dementia research they told us they would be, but to do so they must deliver on their manifesto commitments to double the funding for dementia research, speed up progress in clinical trials, and ultimately—maybe only by the grace of God—help us to find the cure. We cannot allow any more time or opportunities to pass by as we seek to support those living with and at risk of dementia.