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Birkenhead MP Alison McGovern has called for better support for people living with dementia, telling a national conference the disease has been ignored for "far too long", as reported by Birkenhead News.
McGovern, who serves as Minister of State for Social Care, gave the keynote speech at the Alzheimer's Society's annual conference in London.
The event brought together health and social care leaders, policymakers, campaigners, researchers and people living with dementia.
As well as advocating for dementia support, she revealed that the government would publish its first-ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia.
"It will bring health and care workers together, adhering to a clear set of national standards, sharpening the priorities, raising expectations of the help that people living with dementia and their families should receive," she explained at the conference.
"Because we must put a floor under the kind of care that people can expect, and we must improve it too."
Speaking after the event, the Birkenhead MP reflected on how the issue had shaped her time representing the constituency.
"When I first stood for election here 16 years ago, I thought I knew what people would raise with me: jobs, apprenticeships, keeping families' heads above water," she said.
"What I heard on the doorstep was care. A family member with dementia, a partner working in a care home, someone worried about a carer trying to fit a whole day into 15-minute visits."
She described the issue as a "hidden crisis" at that time, which has been neglected. However, she promised that it is now "a priority" to the government.
McGovern has served as the MP for Birkenhead since 2024, and previously as an MP for Wirral South from 2010 until 2024.
