Campaigning for Alzheimer's Drugs

December 2006

“It doesn’t make sense.” That was the clear verdict that I got from campaigners against the restrictions on Alzheimer’s drugs when I met them a week ago. They are outraged at the decision of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to allow the drugs for only moderate but not mild or severe sufferers of the disease. And they are not expensive drugs – just £2.50 a day.

Having an organisation like NICE to look at drugs makes some sense and helps reduce the postcode lottery in the prescribing of them. However I have raised six areas of concern with NICE and the Department of Health about this decision. I am especially concerned that it goes against the usual medical practice of early intervention. I also question how independent the appeal process is when most of those on the appeal panel are internal to NICE. The Government should have the guts to grab this particular bull by the horns and deliver what so many Alzheimer’s sufferers and their carers want – inexpensive drugs that offer them real hope.

But then, less and less of what this Government does make sense. Amazingly they have created 3,000 new criminal offences since 1997 and there have been 59 Home Office Bills. Nevertheless, re-offending rates have risen, conviction rates for some serious violent crimes have fallen, and not many people I speak to feel safer. And while I believe that there should be proper custodial sentences for serious crimes, we have to realise that one day, people are going to come out of prison and we need a better thought out programme of reform and education of offenders while inside.

One of Tony Blair’s achievements then is 114,000 more pages of laws, rules and regulations – the equivalent in the weight of paper to print them to two John Prescotts! That’s why the Lib Dems are arguing at the beginning of the new Parliamentary session for a Freedom Bill to scrap some of this legislative fat! Instead of more unnecessary laws, we should trust and invest in our frontline police, nurses, doctors and teachers instead!