Alzheimer's Treatment in Scotland

The motion

That the Parliament notes the most recent guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which recommends the use of the drugs donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine for use in the treatment of people with moderate Alzheimer’s disease in England and Wales; whilst welcoming this decision, regrets that no similar commitment has been made in respect of the availability of such drugs for people diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s disease; is disappointed that memantine has not been recommended for use at all, despite clinical evidence to suggest that it can benefit patients who have reached the severe stages of the disease; recognises the benefits of continued therapeutic and specialist nursing care in assisting Alzheimer’s sufferers to manage their condition; agrees that initiatives such as that implemented recently by NHS Ayrshire and Arran, whereby at least two nurses on all acute wards are trained specifically to manage patients with Alzheimer’s disease, are an effective means of aiding sufferers and their families; but believes, nonethelesss, that donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine should be available to sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease in Scotland; is aware that NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) will now take the final decision on whether to allow these drugs to be prescribed in Scotland and therefore urges QIS to go further than the NICE recommendations and recognise the role and experience of clinicians and GPs in assessing the needs of the estimated 62,000 people in Scotland who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and calls for a degree of flexibility and discretion to be available to such practitioners in the prescribing of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine, dependent on their evaluation of individual cases.


No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

Lab 17 Green 5 SSP 5 SNP 4 LD 4 Con 4 Ind 2 SSCUP 1

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S2M-03876 by reference.