Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to (a) increase diagnostic capacity for lumbar punctures and (b) prepare services for new dementia treatments following the approval of lecanemab in the USA.
No specific assessment has been made. NHS England is currently exploring what pathways, processes and equipment might best support future disease modifying treatments, including for Alzheimer’s disease. Any decision on the potential scale of testing infrastructure to support the administration of Lecanemab will take account of numerous factors including whether Lecanemab is determined by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to be a clinically and cost-effective National Health Service treatment option.