Pratchett presents Alzheimer's petition to Downing St
Discworld author Terry Pratchett warns "appalling" level of funding for Alzheimer's must be rectified immediately
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Wednesday, 26, Nov 2008 07:01
Terry Pratchett is today spearheading a new drive to increase government funding for Alzheimer's, current levels of which have been dubbed "appalling".
The award-winning Discworld author, who was diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's last year, is due to present a new petition to Downing Street signed by 100 top scientists, a host of public figures and 20,000 members of the public.
Research into Alzheimer's and related diseases, which affect 700,000 people, currently receives just three per cent of government medical research funding.
Pratchett, 60, said he was calling for a funding increase "as a matter of urgency".
"We are facing, to use the term said to me by one of the leading US researchers, a worldwide tsunami of Alzheimer's and other dementia diseases," the author said.
"I intend to scream and harangue while there is time.
"There's only two ways it can go: researchers, with as much help you can give them, may come up with something that reduces the effects of this dreadful, inhuman disease, or we will have to face the consequences of our failure to prevent the final years of many of us being a long bad dream.
"The strain on carers and their support is bad enough now; before very long the effects on the health service and society itself, will be unbearable."
Earlier this year Pratchett - who was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy last year - donated $1 million to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, which he is now a patron of.
The chief executive of the trust, Rebecca Wood, said dementia was costing the UK economy £17 billion every year.
"If scientists could work out how to delay the condition by five years, we could halve the number of people who die with dementia," she said.
"The support from across the political spectrum for an increase in dementia research funding is overwhelming; what other issue unites petition signatories like Lord Rees-Mogg and Tony Benn? The prime minister must take radical action, and fast."
Vivienne Hill, whose 67-year-old mother has dementia said the impact of Alzheimer's is "immeasurable".
"My mum is very frail, she rarely says a word; she sleeps a lot and is completely bedridden," Ms Hill, who is marching on No 10 with Pratchett said.
"She cannot clothe or feed herself and is completely incontinent. The only real positive things I can say about her are that she still eats [although sometimes with difficulty] and her smile can still light up a room on the rare occasions she can manage one.
"The impact of Alzheimer's is immeasurable. To see a loved one gradually being consumed by this devastating disease is a truly harrowing experience. Unless more funding is provided for research into Alzheimer's, the suffering as a result of dementia will spiral out of control."
Commenting on the petition, Alzheimer's Society chief executive Neil Hunt said it was "absolutely essential" that the government increases investment in dementia research.
"If we do nothing now, one million people will develop the condition in the next ten years," he said.
"The forthcoming research summit planned by the government is a crucial opportunity to address the fact that dementia research is drastically underfunded.
One in three people over 65 will die with dementia, yet just three per cent of the government's medical research budget is spent on dementia. With the right investment, this devastating condition can be defeated."