politics.co.uk Logo

Speakers' Corner

Today's issue...Alzheimer's drugs

Monday, 23 Jan 2006 09:30
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has today recommended that patients with moderately severe Alzheimer's disease should have access to three key drugs on the NHS.

The decision signals a U-turn on the watchdog's announcement in March last year that donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine - which cost £2.50 a day - were not cost-effective.

About 72,000 people have mild Alzheimer's in the UK, with about 309,000 of these classed as suffering from a moderate to severe version of the disease.

Today's recommendations – which are subject to a three-week public consultation – have been welcomed by interest groups.

However, many campaigners are angry that thousands of patients suffering from the early form of Alzheimer's will not have access to the drugs.

In addition, Nice believes there is no evidence to support the use of memantine (Ebixa) on the NHS, except for clinical trials.

politics.co.uk brings you the key quotes and comment.

Responses 

  • Bank bailout

    Bank bailout

    Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have announced a plan for a UK bank bailout.More...
  • Global market crash

    Global market crash

    Global markets went into freefall yesterday, with the FTSE posting its biggest ever points fall to 4,589 and the Dow Jones down 370 to 9,956 points.More...
  • Cabinet reshuffle

    Cabinet reshuffle

    Gordon Brown is engaging in a far more extensive Cabinet reshuffle than was expected.More...
  • Cameron speech

    Cameron speech

    David Cameron has delivered his leader's speech to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, calling for delegates and voters to put trust in his judgment, rather than Gordon Brown's experience.More...

  • Rail vs air

    The Conservatives say concentrating on a high-speed rail network is a bigger priority than the proposed third runway at Heathrow.More...

  • Public service broadcasting

    Ofcom's latest consultation on non-BBC public sector broadcasting allows ITV to reduce its regional news services.More...

  • First ID cards

    Home secretary Jacqui Smith unveiled the first UK identity card on Thursday, reopening the debate about their necessity.More...

  • Gordon Brown's speech

    Reactions are pouring in after Gordon Brown delivered one of the most crucial speeches of his political career.More...

  • Internet access for schoolchildren

    The government is announcing plans to give internet access at home to all children of school age today.More...

  • City bonus clean-up

    Gordon Brown's suggestion the government may introduce a crackdown on City bonuses has prompted mixed reactions.More...
  • Lloyds TSB-HBOS merger

    Lloyds TSB-HBOS merger

    LLoyds TSB has confirmed it is to buy Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) - giving the bank a price tag of £12 billion.More...
  • Robert Mugabe of Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC

    Zimbabwe power-sharing

    Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe have agreed to a power sharing deal, with Robert Mugabe continuing as president and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai becoming prime minister.More...

  • Energy deal

    The government has extracted nearly £1 billion from energy companies to insulate homes.More...
  • Latest announcement affects skilled workers

    Skilled worker rules

    Plans to cut the number of skilled migrants have raised questions about the government's ability to cope with immigration issues.More...
  • Brendan Barber leading the call for fair public sector pay

    Public sector pay

    As the TUC's four-day conference gets underway, attention is focused on union opposition to the government's public sector pay.More...
  • Council tax is almost universally despised

    Scottish council tax

    Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has announced plans to replace council tax with a local income tax.More...

  • Housing package

    The government is launching the first stage of its autumn fightback today with a suspension of stamp duty on properties up to the value of £175,000.More...
  • Mr Darling's interview is being called 'indiscrete'

    Darling interview

    Chancellor Alistair Darling has given an assessment of the economy which is considerably darker than any previously coming from Downing Street.More...

  • Rail disruption

    Network Rail's track record on disruption to its services is under the spotlight today.More...
  • Fat responsibility?

    Fat responsibility?

    Are fat people personally responsible for their condition? Or is it the result of their environment,More...
  • Titan prisons

    Titan prisons

    Titan prisons are in the news again, with the National Council of Independent Monitoring Boards saying the huge jails would be difficult to staff and could put vulnerable inmates at risk.More...
  • Teenagers across the country are recieving their GCSE results

    GCSE results

    This year's GCSE results have been released.More...

  • BAA break-up

    Airports operator BAA faces having to sell three of its seven airports in Britain.More...
  • Musharraf resignation

    Musharraf resignation

    President Pervez Musharraf has resigned his post, effectively sidestepping government attempts to impeach him.More...

  • A-level standards

    Time for a return to the annual debate about exam standards.More...
  • Georgia fighting: Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

    Dealing with Russia

    Russia is drawing the criticism of the international community after sending troops into neighbouring Georgia.More...
  • Beijing Olympics

    Beijing Olympics

    The Beijing Olympics have begun with a lavish opening ceremony.More...
  • Rats in hospitals

    Rats in the NHS

    NHS trusts are having to call in pest control on a regular basis, figures released by the Conservatives have shown.More...
  • Car tax

    Car tax

    MPs are split on whether to impose a new system of vehicle excise duty (VED) on British road users.More...
  • Energy windfall

    Energy windfall

    Plans for a tax windfall on energy companies are being seriously considered by chancellor Alistair Darling.More...
  • WTO director general Pascal Lamy

    Collapsed WTO talks

    The latest failure of agreement on talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been met with universal dismay by British commentators.More...

  • Sats takeover

    After lengthy delays to the release of Sats results for thousands of children the government's assessment body has finally stepped in to help out.More...

  • Obesity in the UK

    The UK is getting fat.More...
  • Benefits are facing a massive shake-up

    Welfare reform

    Britain's welfare system will undergo massive changes under new reforms announced by work and pensions secretary James Purnell.More...

  • Opinion: Europe must restore our trust

    Earlier this year there was a press feeding-frenzy over MEPs and their expenses.More...

  • House of Lords reform

    The government has published its white paper on House of Lords reform, drawing up plans for an 80 per cent or wholly elected second chamber.More...

  • Opinion: Sarkozy and the EU

    Europe's leadership cannot be left to France alone.More...

  • Opinion: Civil liberties

    Why you should vote against David Davis by Peter Tatchell.More...

  • Brown's first year

    It's been one year since Gordon Brown made the walk from Number 11 to Number 10.More...

  • Opinion: Planning bill

    "The planning bill is undemocratic, marginalises community voices and does nothing to tackle climate change".More...
  • Peter Facey, director of Unlock Democracy

    Opinion: Party funding

    "How bad does it have to get before we're shocked out of our complacency".More...
  • Mr Davis' move is without precedent, experts say

    Davis resigns

    David Davis, shadow home secretary, has resigned from his frontbench position and as MP for Haltemprice and Howden.More...

  • 42-days

    The Commons is voting on whether pre-charge detention should be extended from 28 to 42 days in terrorism cases.More...

  • Minimum voting age

    MPs have spent the day debating whether to lower the minimum voting age from 18 to 16.More...

  • Mugabe knighthood

    Steps are being taken to revoke the honourary knighthood of Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe.More...

  • Fuel prices fallout

    Soaring fuel prices have underlined all the week's biggest stories.More...
  • Labour have lost Crewe and Nantwich

    By-election fallout

    The Conservatives have made their first by-election gain for 26 years, overturning a 7,000-plus majority in the process.More...

  • Human fertilisation and embryology bill

    MPs are voting on a series of interlinked ethical issues about science's role in the creation of life today and tomorrow.More...

  • Draft Queen's Speech

    The government has revealed its legislative plans for the 2008/09 session.More...

  • Prisoners' pay

    Plans to increase the pay levels of inmates in Britain's prisons have been shelved just one day before they were due to be introduced.More...

  • Council tax

    Councils and the government are coming under pressure to reform local taxation.More...

  • Grangemouth strike

    A two-day strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery has sparked concerns about the security of Britain's energy supply.More...

  • Prisoners' lifestyle

    Allegations that prisoners enjoy a "cushy" lifestyle have triggered debate about the way the country's prisons are run.More...