2014 09 10 GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON DEMENTIA INSUFFICIENT Health minister Rona Ambrose’s announcement that the government is creating a research program on dementia this morning is good news, but remains insufficient in the fight against the imminent threat posed by this disease. Dementia will affect 1.4 million Canadians over the next 15 years. “The government pretends to be acting on our requests, but it’s only trying to save face with the Dementia Summit coming up later this week in Ottawa,” said MP Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt), who tabled a private Member’s bill advocating the NDP’s creation of a national strategy on dementia. “Of course, they have no real plan to fight this medical, social and economic epidemic. Canadians want leadership on the issue.” In response to requests from the Alzheimer Society, the NDP’s national strategy would focus on bolstering funding for research and early diagnosis, and improve early intervention and primary, home and community care. The strategy would also bolster skills and training for stakeholders working with dementia patients and provide better support to informal caregivers. “The minister’s announcement is a good start, but we need to do more. The government should immediately undertake steps to help the millions of Canadians who are suffering from this epidemic,” added NDP Health critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East).
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 22:33:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015