Having recently lost my mother to the soul-destroying effects of Alzheimer's disease and steered through the bureaucracy which confronted me following her initial diagnosis, I was horrified to read a report suggesting the The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has recommended the Government deny effective drugs to thousands of vulnerable patients because it is considered too expensive.

I appreciate I am not alone in experiencing the consequences of Alzheimer's. I have spoken to numerous people who have lost friends and relatives to this dreadful disease.

Without exception, they have experienced the pain, often over very long periods, of seeing their loved ones losing their minds and personality - eventually reaching a stage where they can no longer function and often can't recognise their own children.

There is no cure but with drugs, such as Aricept, the progress of the disease can be slowed for months, if not years.

Research by Guideposts, the Alzheimer's care and research fund, reveals Alzheimer's accounts for more than half of dementia cases. It is estimated nearly every family will have a dependent relative with dementia within the next ten to 20 years. It is also believed dementia will be the most prevalent cause of death of women in the UK in the 21st Century. Already, one in five people aged over 80 suffer from it, requiring 24-hour nursing care.

The care of the elderly and the mentally ill in this country, which purports to be an advanced, wealthy nation, is a disgrace. Day in and day out, we hear of people who are unable to obtain much-needed operations and medical treatment and of men and women wandering the streets instead of receiving care in mental hospitals.

Despite this, and research suggests it is a worsening problem as a result of increased longevity, the Government would have us believe the health service is improving.

Following the Second World War, Aneurin Bevan, the then health minister, drove the medical profession and its unwilling hospital consultants into the NHS. There is no doubt he established a much-needed service, of benefit to all.

This flagship of the welfare state became one of the world's largest employers. The downside was that it required a vast and shambling bureaucracy whose costs escalated far beyond the most pessimistic forecasts. However, it remained the high point of postwar idealism and the public loved it.

Regrettably, the NHS is still confronted with the same problems and has been allowed to become the subject of niggling political ideology, with successive governments failing to address the fundamental issues. Consequently, the service has not improved and the elderly and mentally ill are among the casualties.

What sort of nation have we become when some among us would consider denying such people hope? Are we so self-absorbed we are prepared to turn a blind eye?

Before making any decisions about the fate of Alzheimer's sufferers, I would urge Mr Blair to visit a psychiatric hospital.

He could meet the staff who are often at their wits end trying to cope, some of the distraught relatives and, if he stays long enough, some of the patients themselves.

He would then see the disintegration of the poor souls (who have paid their taxes). He might even witness relatives being harangued by their loved ones, desparate to go home.

The facts are clear: More needs to be done for the elderly and mentally ill. In the meantime, we should not withdraw their life lines.

-Neil Kelly, Hove