Alzheimer's Society pushes 18-week dementia target — SkimNews
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- Alzheimer's Society has proposed an 18-week referral-to-treatment target for dementia in England, endorsed by Professor Sir Mike Richards — England's former national cancer director — and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading a sweeping review of adult social care.
- Professor Sir Mike Richards, who oversaw the introduction of cancer waiting-time targets in 2000, said an 18-week dementia target was achievable but would require "political initiative" and extra funding.
- Baroness Louise Casey, in a March letter to former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, urged the government to put dementia on a "level playing field" with other conditions by setting national standards including the 18-week referral-to-treatment target.
- Social Care Minister Alison McGovern told the Alzheimer's Society conference the proposal was "spot on," said dementia had been "neglected for far too long," and confirmed the government would appoint a "dementia tsar" backed with real expertise.
- The government has committed to publishing a new modern service framework for dementia by the end of the year, the first concrete accountability mechanism it has pledged for the condition.
- Andy Burnham, whose father Roy recently died after living with Alzheimer's, said his father would have wanted him "back out there" pushing for reforms; he will wait for Baroness Casey's recommendations, expected next summer, before deciding on social care changes.
- About one million people are currently living with dementia in the UK, a figure the Alzheimer's Society projects will reach 1.4 million by 2040.
Why it matters: With about one million people in the UK currently living with dementia — projected to reach 1.4 million by 2040 — and no national waiting-time target in place, adopting the 18-week standard would give dementia patients the same systemic guarantees cancer patients received in 2000. The promised "dementia tsar" and end-of-year modern service framework are the first concrete accountability mechanisms the government has committed to for the condition. Burnham has explicitly tied his reform decisions to Baroness Casey's recommendations, expected next summer, meaning the timing of any actual target hinges on that report.
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