Jon Pearce: The long goodbye -dementia must be a national priority

My thoughts this past week have been with the Prime Minister and his family following the death of his father, Pat, after living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Andy has spoken movingly about how his father may not have realised that his son had become Prime Minister. He would have been proud - and there is a particular sadness in knowing that he may not have been able to share that moment.

That reflection stayed with me. It took me back to my own father’s death from Alzheimer’s in 2023.

Some people describe Alzheimer’s as the “long goodbye”. For me, it can feel like you lose someone twice. First, you lose parts of the person you knew: their memories, their personality, their ability to recognise the people around them. Then, eventually, you lose their physical presence from your life.

That is a uniquely painful experience for families to endure.

On 21 September, we marked World Alzheimer’s Day - an opportunity to raise awareness, remember those we have lost, and stand alongside the millions of people living with dementia and those who care for them.

The scale of this challenge is difficult to comprehend. Research commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society estimates that one in three people born today will develop dementia during their lifetime. Around one million people in the UK are already living with dementia, a figure projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.

Behind every statistic is a person, a family and a story. My dad’s experience showed me that dementia does not affect only the person diagnosed. It changes the lives of spouses, children and carers, who face exhausting practical demands alongside the emotional pain of watching someone they love change.

I was reminded of that when I recently visited Pennine Care, a local care home, to meet residents living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Speaking with residents and seeing the care provided brought home once again the importance of compassionate, dignified support - and the responsibility we have to ensure that care is there for everyone who needs it.

That is why we need to do more.

We need sustained investment in research to improve our understanding of Alzheimer’s, develop better treatments and work towards a future where fewer families experience this devastation.

But research alone is not enough. This is also why social care reform matters so much to me and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has committed to reforming adult social care, bringing forward Baroness Casey’s review and seeking cross-party support for a lasting settlement.

Any reforms must mean that people living with dementia receive the right support at the right time - and that families and unpaid carers are not left to navigate a complicated system alone.

My father’s experience is one I will never forget. It has strengthened my belief that we have a responsibility to keep pushing for better research, better care and better support.

On World Alzheimer’s Day, I want to pay tribute to everyone living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, everyone caring for a loved one, and everyone who has lost someone to this cruel disease.

And to every family living through that long goodbye: you should not have to face it alone.