Dacorum’s MPs Mike Penning and David Gauke today joined Alzheimers campaigners on a protest walk in Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead.

Following the recent NICE decision not to prescribe three drugs (Aricept, Reminyl and Exelon) to patients with early stages dementia, local Alzheimers campaigners staged a protest walk in Marlowes culminating at the Civic Centre.

Mike Penning said:

"You cannot put an arbitrary price on someone’s quality of life and their future. Medical treatment should be decided by a clinician and not by some number cruncher! If a medical practitioner expects that a drug will improve a person’s quality of life, then it should be made available."

“It is ethically, morally and clinically wrong to make such decision based on an arbitrary figure,” he added.

David Gauke said:

"I fully support the Alzheimer's campaigners and urge NICE and the Government to reconsider this policy. I cannot believe that it is cost-effective to delay the availability of these drugs until symptoms have developed to an intermediate stage. Surely it makes sense to treat an illness at an early stage. I also question whether NICE has taken into account the impact on carers of withdrawing treatment."