The Government needs to honour its commitments
By Nigel Pritchard. Published 2020-12-05
BOLD-WellbeingOne of the government’s election promises was to double the investment in research into dementia. Now more than ever they need to honour it
Time has really flown this year and my wife reminded me that It’s coming up to the first anniversary of the General Election. So, with this in mind, I decided to take a look at some of the pledges that had been made. The Conservatives, under the leadership of Boris Johnson, set out a bold manifesto for a new future for the UK, the so-called ‘levelling up’ agenda. One of those commitments was the doubling of investment into research for treatments for Dementia. A condition we at TheBoldAge have made a key focus. With nearly 850 thousand people living with Dementia today and an expectation that this will nearly double by 2040, the need for support and research funding into this insidious disease has never been more acute. Covid-19 has only amplified this, especially when you consider that in England and Wales 25% of people who have sadly died from the pandemic have been those living with dementia.Even worse, the pandemic has left charities across the board struggling to stay afloat and many have furloughed, made redundancies and curtailed their research and delivery programmes. Dementia charities have not been unscathed, with fundraising being a critical challenge during these very strange times. Dame Judi Dench, speaking to TheTimes said “A promise was made by government to double its funding for dementia research, to help bring an end to the long and desperate wait for a new treatment.“With that vow came hope for everyone affected by dementia, but that hope is fading while government fails to deliver the funding so greatly needed.” So, why are we still waiting for the government to set out its promised investment commitment?. We all understand that the pandemic rightly takes priority, but that is no excuse for not committing to one of the hardest hit communities in this current crisis.Prioritising dementia investment is a Covid-19 investment, particularly as we will be living through this for some time to come and as dementia continues its inexorable march towards that frightening, 1.7 million number. The disease is not slowing and nor should research.
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