Government promise boosts dementia research

“We will prioritise dementia research within the health research and development budget.” 

Many institutions and research centres focused on dementia have very good reason to be overjoyed at this promise made by David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the document, ‘The Coalition: our programme for Government.’

In the earlier report ‘Dementia 2010: The prevalence, economic cost and research funding of dementia compared with other major diseases’, it is revealed that for every £1million in social and health care costs, £129,269 is spent on cancer research, £73,153 on heart disease research, £8,745 on stroke research and just £4,882 on dementia.

Professor Paul Kingston, Director of the Centre for Ageing and Mental Health at Staffordshire University, is delighted to see commitment to dementia research by the new government and their promise of dedicated funding.

He said: “This is really welcome by us as the UK currently spends a disproportionate amount on cancer and other diseases as opposed to Alzheimer’s.  Dementia costs £23 billion per year, more than cancer and heart disease combined, yet we see a big difference in the research funding.”

“The University welcomes this fully as we already have an extensive research programme at the Centre and we look forward to developing future work.  The Centre for Ageing and Mental Health was launched at Staffordshire University in 2005 with the aim to improve mental health in later life.”

The Centre leads national research in the field, and Professor Paul Kingston and colleague Professor Susan Benbow have received government funding for several projects in the past, including a grant from the HEA to design, teach, run and evaluate a module of teaching on user and carer experiences (In our Shoes) in partnership with users and carers (some of whom were living with a dementia). Paul and Susan were also awarded the 2009 Dawkins and Strutt grant ( a BMA grant dedicated to assisting research into the prevention, treatment and management of dementia) for a project studying the benefits of producing a narrative or therapeutic story of their experiences for people living with a dementia and their carers.

The Centre is also leading the development of competencies for dementia care in the West Midlands, supported and funded by the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority.

Educational developments include an educational package entitled ‘The 4D’s’.  The two-day programme is aimed at acute hospital staff, specifically focused on Dignity, Dementia, Depression and Delirium, or The 4 D’s.

Centre member Professor George Tadros is also advising the Department of Health on their strategy for dementia as a member of the National Dementia Research Committee.

Professor Tadros said that ‘we need to use psychiatric expertise more effectively in acute hospital care to improve the quality of care for people with dementia, by so doing we can also reduce length of stay and reduce costs’. Professor Tadros is leading a model project in this area in City Hospital Birmingham.

Staffordshire University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Christine King, is also delighted that the Centre’s work could receive extra funding and support by the government.  Not only does the University work in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society to raise money for dementia research and care, but Professor King also has a personal interest in dementia research.

She said:  “I welcome this statement from the government most warmly.  I have personal experience of how complicated issues around caring for people with dementia can be.  This is one of the most urgent health issues of our time and we ignore it at our peril.”

“I am very proud of the work undertaken by the University in this area and look forward to more successful research projects in the future."