Sajid Javid says 'seismic shifts' are needed to fight dementia
Health Secretary Sajid Javid claims ‘seismic shifts’ are needed to fight dementia as he promises to unveil a 10-year plan to help beat the disease later this year
- Dementia plan to look at why people fall ill, as four in 10 cases are preventable
- Mr Javid said action on inactivity, alcohol and obesity ‘all have a part to play’
- Experts estimate there are 900,000 people across the UK living with dementia
Sajid Javid said his plan, set to be published later this year, will look at why people fall ill, with figures suggesting up to four in 10 cases are potentially preventable
A 10-year plan to tackle dementia will have a big focus on prevention, the Health Secretary claimed today as he promised a ‘seismic shift’ in how the condition is tackled.
Sajid Javid said his blueprint, set to be published later this year, will look at why people fall ill, with figures suggesting up to four in 10 cases are potentially preventable.
Speaking at the Alzheimer’s Society annual conference in central London, he said: ‘We know now that what’s good for the heart is also good for the brain.
‘Action on high blood pressure, physical inactivity, alcohol, obesity and healthy eating all have a part to play. We’re going to be very ambitious on prevention.’
But charity bosses warned today that Mr Javid’s plans will ‘mean nothing’ without ‘ambitious funding’, noting that Government plans have previously ‘not matched the scale and impact of dementia’.
The condition, which 430,000 people in England were diagnosed in the last year, was the leading cause of death after Covid in England and Wales in 2020.
Experts estimate another 325,000 are suffering without a formal diagnosis, which medics warn is vital for patients to receive necessary care.
Diagnosis rates have fallen below the Government’s target of two-thirds since the pandemic began.
Speaking at the Alzheimer’s Society annual conference in central London, Sajid Javid said: ‘We know now that what’s good for the heart is also good for the brain. ‘Action on high blood pressure, physical inactivity, alcohol, obesity and healthy eating all have a part to play. We’re going to be very ambitious on prevention.’
More than 325,000 people in England are living with dementia but have not been diagnosed, according to a study.
Diagnosis rates have fallen below the Government’s target of two-thirds since the pandemic began.
The report found there is a postcode lottery in terms of who is diagnosed, with proportions ranging from 83 per cent to less than 50 per cent.
NHS England set an ambition in 2013 for two-thirds of people with dementia in England to have a diagnosis and follow-up support.
But the rate fell from 68 per cent in February 2020 to 62 per cent in March, NHS Digital said.
Consultancy Future Health said the data suggests more than 325,000 people in England may have undiagnosed dementia.
The report said that from 2020 to 2021, 430,000 people had a formal diagnosis but around four in ten of those with dementia did not.
It found the Midlands has the highest proportion of undiagnosed dementia, while London and the North West have the lowest.
But the analysis also uncovered regional variations. In Stoke-on-Trent, the rate of diagnosis is 83 per cent, compared with 48 per cent in nearby Stafford.
Around 676,000 people in England and 850,000 across the UK are estimated to have dementia.
The NHS Digital figures compare the number of people thought to have dementia with the number of people diagnosed with it.
Mr Javid said he wanted his plan to be ‘more ambitious than anything that we’ve ever done before’.
He added: ‘To begin with, I want our dementia strategy to be a 10-year plan, not just five because we can only get to grips with long term challenges by thinking long term.
‘I’d like us to be as bold as we’ve been with our 10 year-plan for cancer.’
Mr Javid said the Government wanted to be as ‘equally ambitious on research’ as it was on prevention and to be ‘bold’ about finding new medicines, treatments and technology — such as genomic sequencing and digital biomarkers.
The Government has already committed £375million to research into neurodegenerative diseases over the next five years, he added.
He said the UK should measure itself against the leading countries globally and ‘unafraid to find new ways of working’.
He said: ‘We are at a crossroads here today. We understand the challenges that lie ahead.
‘When it comes to dementia, we know that there have never been any quick fixes. We know that there are not any easy wins.
‘But we also know that when a visionary plan comes together with powerful partners and proper funding, and we couple it with care and compassion, that combination can be unbeatable. That’s going to be the mission.’
Figures suggest around 30,000 people with dementia faced delays to getting diagnosed during the pandemic.
The latest NHS Digital data shows that nearly 62 per cent of over-65s who are thought to have dementia had been diagnosed by March.
This figure has remained steady over the last year but is lower than the Government’s own 65 per cent target.
It is also a smaller rate than before the pandemic struck, when 68 per cent of sufferers were estimated to have been diagnosed.
Experts estimate there are 900,000 people across the UK living with dementia.
They predict the figure will rise to one million by 2025 and 1.6million by 2040.
Mr Javid admitted the Covid crisis ‘stemmed the tide of progress’ and it became ‘harder for some people to get a timely diagnosis’.
He said: ‘I think one of the reasons why we haven’t made as much progress on dementia as we would like is because it’s going to take some pretty seismic shifts, both in terms of the architecture of health and care and our own approach.
‘That’s hard to do. Reform takes time. And you need to take people with you. But it’s a journey we’ve already begun — and it’s a challenge this government is unafraid to take on.’
Mark MacDonald, associate director of advocacy and system change at the Alzheimer’s Society, said noted that the Health Secretary recognised that the UK faces a ‘crucial turning point’ for dementia care.
He said: ‘We will soon have a new 10-year dementia strategy, a revised long-term plan for the NHS in England and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to demonstrate true integrated care.
‘We’re in a stronger position than ever to deliver transformational change to people with dementia.’
But Mr MacDonald warned Mr Javid words ‘will mean nothing’ if they are not ‘backed by equally ambitious funding and delivery mechanisms which put people with dementia at their heart, and who need to see tangible change now’.
He added: ‘We have now been waiting more than two years for the promised Dementia Moonshot to double research funding, which will help us improve care and find a cure.
‘For too long Government action has not matched the scale and impact of dementia.
‘We welcome the Secretary of State’s ambitious words today but we must now see this translate quickly into meaningful delivery plans for which ministers should be held accountable.’
It comes as a report yesterday warned more than 325,000 people in England are living with dementia and have not been diagnosed.
Figures showed diagnosis rates were a postcode lottery, with just 50 per cent of sufferers having their dementia confirmed in some parts of the country, compared to 83 per cent in others.
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