Alzheimer's Campaigning

Phil is an active campaigner for all issues concerning Alzheimer's.

Over the years, hundreds of constituents have contacted the office to tell us of their difficulties - from living with Alzheimer's, gaining access to drugs and caring for loved ones with the disease.

Phil speaks out at a rally for access to Alzheimer's drugs

Updates:

Phil Willis meets with representatives from the Alzheimer's Society - March 2007 

Phil meets with the Campaigns Officer and Head of Research to discuss the concerns of the residents of Harrogate and Knaresborough. 

Concern over Dementia Report - Feb 2007

The LSE and the Institute of Psychiatry published a report which estimates that Dementia costs the UK £17 billion a year.

Phil Willis said:

"This new research is extremely telling. Alzheimer's affects both the sufferer and their families and can put a huge burdon on those concerned, both financially and personally"

"The Government cannot rely on carers to replace the role of the State - and the problem will only get worse"

The report states that 700,000 people, or one in every 88 in the UK have dementia, incurring a yearly cost of £17 billion. It also predicts that 1.7 million people in the UK will have dementia by 2051.

Phil Willis co-signs new Commons Motion - November 2006

The Early Day Motion argues that Alzheimer's has not been made a Government priority and that funding is not keeping pace with the rising prevalence of the disease as the UK population ages.

The co-signatory of the EDM, Phil Willis said:

"Underfunding of Alzheimer's research is deeply concerning. There are over 750,000 people with dementia in the UK and the figure is rising, but only 2% of the Medical Research Council funding is allocated to Alzheimer's.

"Great advances in our understanding of the disease and the new approaches to treatment and prevention are being made here in the UK, so i'm committed to supporting the Alzheimer's Research Trust's campaign to ensure that funding for Alzheimer's increases significantly

Alzheimer's Disease costs the UK more than cancer, stroke and heart disease combined but receives only a tenth of the Government research funding allocated to cancer - just £11 per patient per year compared to £289 per cancer patient. 

EDM 265 'Research Funding for Alzheimer's Diagnosis, Treatment and Cure' states:

That this House notes that 2006-07 marks a century of Alzheimer's being a recognised and researched illness; notes with concern that there are still over 750,000 people with dementia in the UK; further notes the rising prevalence of Alzheimer's disease which accounts for over half the cases of dementia; is concerned that Alzheimer's costs nearly 10 times as much as cancer to treat per year but receives a tenth of the Government's research funding allocated to cancer per year; and welcomes the Alzheimer's Research Trust campaign in urging the Government to increase funding and promote further research into the diagnosis, treatment and a possible cure for Alzheimer's.

Phil Willis adds name to Commons Motion - March 2006 

The Early Day Motion was tabled in February and Phil Willis soon added his support.

EDM 1607 'Drugs for Alzheimer's Disease' stated:

That this House recognises that the latest recommendation by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence allows access to Alzheimer's disease drugs for patients in the moderate stages of the illness; believes however that the decision is illogical as it excludes both mild and severe patients from effective treatment, which removes the ability of physicians to diagnose and treat patients early and effectively and removes the choice of clinicians to prescribe more than one class of drug; believes it is unethical to expect clinicians to wait for patients to deteriorate before offering well-proven and efficacious treatments and that the decision will place clinicians in the difficult position of having to withdraw treatments from severe stage patients at a point when behavioural issues are more prevalent and problematic and carers more stressed, which will result in greater pressure on social care systems; is concerned that the decision, if unaltered, will adversely affect patients with advanced disease, resulting in the NHS effectively abandoning many Alzheimer's disease sufferers and their carers and families to an uncertain and apprehensive future; agrees with the Minister of State for Health's comments in the House on 7th February 2006 that `the needs of carers, especially those who look after people with mental health problems, are paramount'; further believes that both classes of drug should be made available on the NHS; and calls on the Government to ensure that effective drug treatment options will remain for patients suffering from the mild and severe stages of the disease.

Access to Drugs - 2005/2006

In March 2005, NICE recommended that no one with Alzheimer's should be offered drugs on the NHS for a cost of just £2.50 a day.

However, The Alzheimer's Society and MPs - including Phil Willis - campaigned for access to treatment throughout 2006

Harrogate and Knaresborough residents joined the 'NHS Alzheimer's drugs fund campaign' and sent cheques for £2.50 to Phil Willis who then went to the Secretary of State for Health to take up their campaign.

The Campaign: The £2.50 campaign followed a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) final decision to withdraw anticholinesterase drugs from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and prohibit the prescription of Ebixa on the NHS together.

The withdrawn drugs cost just £2.50 per day per person and to highlight this the Alzheimer's Society launched a campaign to challenge the Government by sending cheques for £2.50 to the Secretary of State.

Phil Willis stated at the time: "This decision by NICE is unacceptable - the evidence demonstrates that the drug treatments are clinically and cost effective"

"This Government states that it wants to promote independence and well-being of people in all stages of their lives. This decision helps neither aim"

"For many sufferers and their families these drugs are a lifeline and drastically reduce the burden on carers. The wider benefits of the drugs have been callously ignored."

The Verdict: Thanks to the passionate efforts of The Alzheimer's Society's dedicated campaigners, thousands more people now have access to treatment.

Campaigning for Carers

Updates:

Carers Week - 11th- 17th June

Letter to constituents: As Carers Week, 11-17 June, approaches I am writing to people who have contacted me in the past about issues relating to carers to let you know of a campaign that I am supporting and to report some good news about improved pension rights for some carers.

Six million people throughout the country provide care for a friend or relative who is frail, ill or has a disability, and many are unknown to statutory agencies.   Although caring can be an extremely rewarding and fulfilling role, it is also a taxing one and can involve sacrifices.  

Some three million carers juggle work with their caring responsibilities, and this often means that they miss out on opportunities that are open to others.   I have recently given my support to a motion tabled in the House of Commons calling on the government to remove the gainfully employed rule, which prevents carers from earning more than £87 per week if they are claiming Carer's Allowance.  

I am also pleased to inform you that my Liberal Democrat colleague David Laws, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, succeeded in introducing an amendment to the Pensions Bill currently under consideration in parliament.   He has won a concession from the government which will give 40,000 carers an entitlement to a basic state pension for people who care for more than 20 hours per week for people who are not in receipt of disability related benefits.