Luton man delivers letter to Downing Street calling for Government action to help dementia sufferers

A Luton man living with dementia joined Alzheimer’s Society Ambassadors to deliver a letter to Downing Street.

The letter, signed by more than 3,700 people across the East of England, urges Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deliver on previous Conservative Party commitments – which promised to deliver a ‘visionary ten-year plan’ for dementia, to reform the social care system and double spending on dementia research by 2024.

Ananga Moonesinghe, of Luton, made the journey to London to hand over the letter in person.

The 76-year-old said: “When I was diagnosed, in the two years under the care of the Memory Clinic I was only told I had dementia and given medication. I didn’t get enough support and had to find it all out on my own.

“Dementia is just as important as any other condition and the Government need to make good on their promises for people living with dementia now and in the future.”

Joining Ananga was Alzheimer’s Society Ambassadors Vicky McClure and Dame Arlene Phillips, with Debbie Abrahams MP and Chair of the All Party Group on Dementia and Elliot Colburn MP.

With diagnosis rates still sitting below pre-pandemic levels, national figures reveal people are waiting up to two years in some areas for a diagnosis, thereby missing out on vital treatment and support. Alzheimer’s Society research also shows three in five people affected by dementia struggled to get social care in the past year.

The charity is concerned the deepening workforce crisis in social care risks leaving people with dementia desperate for help while living costs soar. According to a recent survey, there are an estimated 165,0003 vacancies in adult social care across England, including 19,500 across the East of England.

Actress Vicky McClure, said: “Government is failing people with dementia. I’ve seen this first-hand with members of my Our Dementia Choir who are left struggling and alone after a diagnosis, unsure where to get the support they so desperately need.

“We’ve heard lots of ambitious words from Government about dementia, but words need to become action,” Kate Lee, Alzheimer’s Society Chief Executive, said. “The recommitment to the National Dementia Mission – to double dementia research spend – was a promising step, but we’re yet to see tangible action, while progress on the ten-year plan on dementia has stalled and social care reform scrapped.

“Hope is on the horizon – we saw the first ever drug to slow down Alzheimer’s disease late last year, showing that this is a fight we can win.

“Our letter to the Prime Minister urges for change – a massive reform of social care, a visionary ten-year plan for dementia, and the National Dementia Mission funding to unlock treatments for people now and in the future.”

Alzheimer’s Society says the delivery of these will be transformational for the lives of the 900,000 people living with dementia, including more than 94,000 estimated to be living with the condition across the East of England.