Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 2 December 2009.

Dementia

Question: Does the Minister agree that it is important that people should be able to make decisions in advance? None of us knows who is going to develop dementia; it can occur in anyone. In particular, people should be able to make decisions about their own future while they are still able to do so, or even decisions as to whether they would want to take part in a research project if they develop dementia.

Answer: The noble Baroness raises two important points. The first is the need to think ahead and to encourage people to appoint a welfare attorney, if they can, who will support them when the time comes that they no longer have the capacity to do so themselves. Secondly, the ethical issue that the report points to about research is how someone who lacks capacity can take a decision to participate in the dementia research that you might wish to undertake. It is important that those issues are discussed while the person still has capacity and that the decisions are recorded, so that the people who have the care of that person know what their wishes would have been.

Secondary information