Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve access to trials for new dementia treatments in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with dementia, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The Department funds research and research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into dementia. NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research' that promotes participation in clinical trials and other research. More information about signing up for Be Part of Research is available at the following link:

https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/take-part-in-research/

The NIHR Research Delivery Network supports the delivery of dementia studies and increased patient participation and timely access to clinical research opportunities for NHS organisations serving South Holland and The Deepings, including through the wider Lincolnshire and East Midlands research ecosystem. This is complemented by regional NIHR infrastructure, including the East Midlands Primary Care Commercial Research Delivery Centre, which is helping to strengthen primary care research capacity and expand opportunities for patients to access commercial research closer to home.

At a national level, the Department, via the NIHR, is also investing nearly £50 million into the Dementia Trials Network, offering people with dementia the opportunity to take part in early phase clinical trials irrespective of where they live. This is complemented by the £20 million Dementia Trials Accelerator, designed to position the United Kingdom as the destination for late phase dementia and neurodegenerative disease trials.

In partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and Alzheimer Scotland, the NIHR delivers Join Dementia Research, an online platform enabling people with and without a dementia diagnosis, as well as carers, to take part in research, including studies evaluating potential dementia treatments.