Benefits of Alzheimer's drugs callously ignored - Gidley
4 Jul 2006
The Alzheimer's Society today held a lobby of Parliament to highlight NICE's decision not to recommend the use of Alzheimer's drugs to treat mild or severe forms of the disease. Liberal Democrat MP Sandra Gidley spoke at the rally and said:
"Doctors are being put in an unethical position. Having to wait for a patient to deteriorate before being allowed to prescribe treatment, means that they are forced to wrestle with their conscience.
"What sort of society says to the sick, 'we can help you but we have to wait until you become sicker before we can do so?'
"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."