Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Alzheimer's Research UK report Tipping Point: The Future of Dementia, published in September, what steps they are taking to support the implementation of new dementia diagnostics such as blood tests.

In anticipation of any new Alzheimer’s treatments that might achieve a licence and subsequently be determined by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to be safe, clinically and cost effective for routine use in the National Health Service, NHS England has stepped up and accelerated preparation for implementation.

A dedicated programme team has been established and is working across the NHS and with industry partners and patient groups to make sure that the NHS is planning ahead, understanding the opportunities, choices and key decisions that will need to be taken in the weeks and months ahead to enable the roll out of any NICE recommended treatments.

This includes developing and implementing new care pathways that both rely on current diagnostic and treatment monitoring options, and consider those identified through expert clinical advice and horizon scanning as having the potential for routine NHS use in the future.