Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
£300m fund to keep us healthy as we get older
Cash for diagnosis, support & research
MORE than £300million will be ploughed into helping us stay healthy further into old age.
With 10 million of Britons currently alive expected to live to 100, ministers said they need to ensure people remain healthy and independent for longer.
Under plans set out by Business Secretary Greg Clarke, a £210million competitive fund will invest in new diagnostic tools, medical products and treatments.
Regional centres will be set up to boost diagnosis using artificial intelligence and there will be investment in genome sequencing.
A further £98million will be used to develop new products and services to help people live in their homes longer. And £40million will go to the UK Dementia Research Institute, in partnership with University College London, to create a research hub on the disease. Mr Clark said: “We are investing over £300million in developing the treatments of the future, in new technologies that will revolutionise the way we age and give everyone the best chance to grow old with dignity in their own home.
“By 2020 we want to be the best in the world for dementia care and research, and today’s £40million for the Dementia Research Institute is a vitally important step.”