Invest £16 million into improving dementia diagnostics

We believe that with recent news of life-changing treatments such as Lecanemab and Donanemab potentially becoming available in the UK, thousands of people may be unable to access these drugs because of inadequate diagnoses.

Lumbar Punctures have been found to be a fast, accurate and cost-effective way to detect signs of dementia. A £16 million investment could boost the number of Lumbar Punctures from 2,000 a year to 20,000; helping the NHS pay for infrastructure, equipment and specialist training. The annual cost of social and informal care for those with dementia is estimated to be over £20 billion - and it is estimated around 1 in 4 hospital beds are occupied by a dementia patient, this investment into diagnostics could present a clear and long-term economic benefit.