For several reasons, I believe Britain’s drug regulator NICE is correct not to allow lecanemab, the Alzheimer’s “wonder drug”, to be made available on the NHS (”Campaigners urge government to intervene as wonder drug deemed ‘too expensive’ for NHS”, Thursday 22 August).
Firstly, your report mentions income inequality – however, there is the much bigger inequality of where one lives. There are very few PET scanners, which are used in diagnostic testing, among other things, and which cost a lot to operate. If one lives rurally, people would have to travel many miles to attend a scan.
With lecanemab, the full treatment programme involves fortnightly infusions: if one is dependent on local buses, the cost of getting to a hospital regularly would be high.
Much has been made – by charities, as well as The Independent’s editorial on the matter – of the potential saved cost of unpaid carers. However, what is rather less mentioned is that the new Alzheimer’s drug only slows down the disease, so the carers’ cost is merely delayed.
Most people with dementia spend months, if not years – in my case, four years – trying to receive a diagnosis. Obviously, I would not have been eligible for treatment with lecanemab. In a world of finite financial resources – where it is a case of either/or, not both – we should be focussed on speeding up diagnosis.
Martin Robertson
Cruden Bay
Isn’t everyone your neighbour?
Democratic Party leaders say in their manifesto that they value Israeli and Palestinian lives equally – and yet they refused to allow any Palestinian delegate or other Palestinian person a chance to address their convention.
They have been allowed to have a panel discussion in a side room, but no space was found for them on the floor of the huge convention room. Why not?
Isn’t everyone your neighbour, as Tim Walz said in his speech on Wednesday? Except, that is, those demonstrators calling for the US to stop funding the genocide in Gaza, who were confined by Chicago police to a park more than a kilometre away from the convention.
Genevieve Forde
Address supplied
No way to live
I’m a 72-year-old widowed pensioner and I’ve been receiving the winter fuel allowance for several years now.
It’s been a godsend for me, especially since the price of fuel has gone through the roof. I am registered disabled and need my heating on probably much more than others due to a series of health issues.
Although I don’t qualify for pension credit due to my private pension, it’s still been comforting to know that I have had that anxiety taken away from me over the winter so I can keep my heating on without being concerned.
As this winter approaches, I’ve already made adjustments. I wear dressing gowns over my clothes and I have a blanket and warm slippers. I always use the microwave now and not the main oven. I only shower and wash my hair now every two to three days, and I spread my washing out over much longer periods to try to cut back.
It’s no comparison to the life I had before when I didn’t fret about my bills; it’s scary the amount they now come to each month. When you see the smart meters going over £15 per day, it’s a huge worry – and no way to live.
Hazel Kennedy
Address supplied
A different lesson from the GCSE results
As a teacher who has taught in a wide variety of schools in both Greater London and the West Midlands, what is missing in the debate about the divide in GCSE results is the fact that many do not buy into the curriculum offered. If we expanded the syllabus for students, they could be given more options (“I’m a maths teacher… which is why I say the GCSE has to be revamped”, Friday 23 August).
For example, the return of metalwork, woodwork, textiles, home economics and graphic design – which existed when I was at school – could help many find a subject of interest and then see the point of concentrating on their mathematics, English and science.
Kartar Uppal
West Midlands
Tragedies all at sea
It is obviously right and proper that the Italian authorities undertake a full examination of what happened when the Bayesian sank off Porticello.
However, there is a contrast in terms of public attention and media coverage with the deaths of the more than 30,000 migrant people who have drowned in the Mediterranean since 2014.
The cases of all who die at sea have a right to proper attention and appropriate follow-up.
Andrew McLuskey
Ashford