Veronica Franklin Gould FRSA

There’s no doubt that today’s decision to not recommend the use of lecanemab or donanemab on the NHS is a setback for people with Alzheimer’s disease It is highly disappointing that we are in a situation where treatments that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease are not available on the NHS. The fact is, even if donanemab and lecanemab were made available on the NHS tomorrow, too many patients wouldn’t be able to access them because the health system isn’t ready to deliver them. The science is flying but the system is failing. What we need now is for the UK government to commit to the long-term investment needed to fundamentally change dementia diagnosis so that we are ready for new treatments. This relies on an early diagnosis and access to specialist diagnostic tests, yet currently a third of people with dementia don’t have a diagnosis at all. We are heading towards a future where disease-slowing treatments reduce the devastating impact of dementia, and we cannot afford to delay preparing the NHS for them.