Upcoming Green Paper is the perfect opportunity for Matt Hancock to put forward bold reforms - Alzheimer's Society
Sally Copley, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Partnerships
| Alzheimer’s Society
Alzheimer's Society has responded to Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
We cannot ignore the fact that dementia is the biggest challenge facing our health and social care systems, so it’s great to hear that the UK Government is as committed as we are to tackling dementia both globally and nationally.
We heartily join Matt Hancock’s call for ‘cross border cooperation’ for research, to ensure our investment in the UK’s Dementia Research Institute fulfils its enormous potential.
It’s not just about a cure, this approach must extend beyond research, we need people around the world to join our movement for change.
Already we have swelled the ranks, with 2.6 million Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friends and 330 Dementia Friendly Communities upholding the rights of people with dementia, tackling stigma and empowering people affected to live a life they want in their community.
But we can achieve so much if everyone - from the clerk at a local bank, to FTSE 100 corporations – unite with us and tackle dementia head on.
Societal action will take us far, but we know that the world over, people living with dementia bear the brunt of broken care systems.
Dementia doesn’t just create a $1 trillion cost to our global economy, there’s also a human cost - vulnerable people forced to lose their savings and sell their homes to pay for what’s often poor care.
The time is now for the UK to be the torchbearers on social care reform and develop ways of providing good quality, affordable dementia care that tackles this urgent, yet hidden, crisis.
The upcoming Green Paper this autumn is the perfect opportunity for Matt Hancock to lead the way in putting forward these bold reforms.
