Lord Darzi's report on the NHS shows why we must make dementia a priority

Mark MacDonald, our Associate Director of Evidence, Policy and Influencing, has responded to the publication of Lord Ara Darzi's report on the NHS and what it may mean for dementia services.

Mark said: "This report paints a worrying picture, yet one which has been clear for some time: the NHS is broken and people affected by dementia are too often going without the care, support and the critical diagnosis they need. 

Dementia is truly a whole system challenge, demanding a whole system approach. Yet, as Lord Darzi has concluded, that system isn’t yet up to the challenge. 
 

"We see the unrelenting impact these failings have on people with dementia every day. Almost a million people live with dementia yet one in three aren’t getting diagnosed at all, and there is huge variation in access to services. 

"As the Darzi report points out, dementia presents an important challenge, particularly as our population ages. 

"It places enormous pressure and cost on the NHS and without significant changes, those will get much worse. 

It is critical that the NHS is capable of diagnosing, treating and caring for people living with dementia now and into the future.   

"We are calling on the government to act and make dementia the priority it should be and invest in dementia diagnosis, care and research. 

"The new evidence we’re producing demonstrates an overwhelming case for change to do things differently and better. 

"This generation has the power to end the devastation caused by dementia, but only if we act and work together to do so. Alzheimer's Society stands ready to support the development of a new 10-year plan for the NHS."