In honour of the late Dame Barbara Windsor, the Prime Minister has established a new national mission to combat dementia and doubled research funding.
Scott Mitchell, Dame Barbara’s husband, met with the Prime Minister at Downing Street earlier this week.
They talked about the tremendous suffering dementia causes and the lengthy search for remedies.
In response, the Prime Minister established the “Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission” in Dame Barbara’s honour as well as the millions of other people whose lives dementia has ruined, along with the lives of those people’s loved ones.
The national mission will be supported by an additional £95 million in ring-fenced funding, increasing the number of clinical trials and ground-breaking research initiatives.
This will assist in fulfilling the manifesto pledge to double dementia research funding to £160 million annually by 2024.
A new taskforce, made up of representatives from business, the NHS, academia, and families of dementia patients, will lead the mission.
More theories and potential treatments for dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases can be tested by accelerating the clinical trial process.
The taskforce will build on the achievements of the Kate Bingham-led Covid Vaccine Taskforce.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister, said:
Dame Barbara Windsor was a British hero. I had the pleasure of meeting her both on the set of Eastenders as Peggy Mitchell, and at Downing Street as we discussed the injustices faced by dementia sufferers.
I am delighted that we can now honour Dame Barbara in such a fitting way, launching a new national dementia mission in her name.
Working with her husband Scott, and on behalf of everyone who is living with dementia or has a loved one affected by this devastating condition, I am doubling research funding and calling for volunteers to join ‘Babs’ Army.’ We can work together to beat this disease, and honour an exceptional woman who campaigned tirelessly for change.
By 2025, there will be a million people with dementia, and by 2040, there will be 1.6 million.
Although the origins of up to 40% of dementia cases are still unknown, prevention is still a possibility.
Dementia can harm the brain years before a person experiences any symptoms, necessitating much early testing of potential treatments.
More clinical trials are required, but they frequently take too long and waste money looking for volunteers.
To participate in scientific studies for preventative medicines known as “Babs’ Army,” volunteers with or without a family history of dementia are being sought by the prime minister.
Dame Barbara Mitchell’s husband Scott said:
The first in 15 Prime Ministers and over 70 years to grasp the nettle and reform social care, I’m so pleased that Boris had the conviction to do this reform. I’m so honoured that not only has he reformed social care, but he’s also committed this new money in Barbara’s name to make the necessary research breakthroughs to find a cure for dementia.
Barbara would be so proud that she has had this legacy which will hopefully mean that families in the future won’t have to go through the same heart-breaking experience that she and I had to endure. I can’t stop thinking about her looking down with pride.
On the Join Dementia Research website, volunteers can express their interest.
The new taskforce will work to lower trial costs while accelerating delivery, along with the additional funding. Utilizing the NIHR’s current infrastructure, we will expand on innovative working methods developed during the clinical trials for the covid vaccine.
This week will see the beginning of the taskforce lead hiring process.
The chosen applicant will be responsible for inspiring action and ensuring the best possible use of taxpayer funds.
In order to test new treatments from an expanding range of potential options, the new national mission will build on recent developments in biological and data sciences, including genomics, AI, and the most recent brain imaging technology.
In order to understand how those who are at risk of developing dementia might be able to slow or prevent the disease in the future, researchers will look for signals of risk factors.
Steve Barclay, the secretary of health and social services, said:
Anyone who lives with dementia, or has a loved one affected, knows the devastating impact this condition can have on their daily lives, but for too long our understanding of its causes have not been fully understood.
By harnessing the same spirit of innovation that delivered the vaccine rollout, this new Dementia mission, backed by £95 million of government funding, will help us find new ways to deliver earlier diagnosis, enhanced treatments and ensure a better quality of life for those living with this disease, both now and in the future.
Hilary Evans, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
We’re delighted the Government has recommitted to doubling dementia research funding, and that our call for a Dementia Medicines Taskforce to speed up the development of new treatments has been heard. This marks an important step towards finding life-changing treatments for dementia and supporting our NHS to be able to deliver these new medicines to the people who need them when they become available.
We are incredibly grateful to our tireless supporters who have helped keep dementia on the political agenda over the past three years. Over 50,000 people joined us in contacting their MPs, signing petitions, and even writing personal letters to the Prime Minster himself.
The upcoming 10-year dementia plan is a chance for the next Prime Minster to make sure this funding is met with ambitious action and we look forward to working with the Government to turn it into a reality.