Mr. Marsden is a member of the All-Party MPs Dementia Group at Westminster and is sitting on that Groups high-profile enquiry into the use of psychotropic drugs for dementia sufferers in care homes and which is expected to report before Easter.  He has also been working with the Alzheimer’s Society both in Blackpool and nationally to raise awareness of the condition and to strengthen commitment of skills and training locally from health and social care providers. 

Mr Marsden said: “Sadly dementia is a condition, which as I have heard from witnesses to our enquiry at Westminster, is increasing rapidly, especially as people live longer and particularly in the over-80 age range where it affects up to 1 in 3 people.” 

“There are no easy answers but raising the level of public and professional awareness and support mechanisms for family and friends of those suffering dementia is at the heart of the current initiatives and indeed our All-Party Enquiry at Westminster.  I pay particular tribute to the Social Care Minister, Ivan Lewis MP, who as a fellow North-West MP is spearheading a National Dementia Strategy in government.  I hope our enquiry and the specific issues being looked at in Blackpool with its concentration of care homes will contribute positively to that strategy.”