NATIONAL Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) chief executive, Andrew Dillon, said: "The institute would like to make it clear that it has not been asked or told by ministers to reverse its advisory committees provisional recommendations on the use of these drugs."

Does this justify the decision to disregard Altzheimer's sufferers and their families from the only drugs which can not "cure" this dreadful "thief" of an illness, but go some way, the only way at present, to slowing it down and giving sufferers and their families some quality of life?

NICE cannot side-step their responsibilities to sufferers, they cannot escape the decision which puts finance over need for essential drugs.

Growing old is something we all will do. In the eyes of society, and the caring services, old age is the most unattractive part of the service. However it is the largest section and biggest spending section of the NHS and Social Services, because so many of us are reaching old age now. But please don't think that Alzheimer's is an illness limited only to people over 65. Tragically, many younger people in their 40s and 50s have been affected by this illness.

The decision by NICE to withhold the drugs on the NHS and make sufferers buy their own supplies is direct discrimination and can only serve to illustrate the low regard they have for sufferers of this dreadful illness, and their unwillingness to donate part of their budget towards their relief.

NICE perhaps should consider changing their name to MEAN?

Get off the fence, stop trying to justify an unjustifiable decision, and set the record straight, that there is no discrimination shown to older people in the NHS services - we would all like to believe that, but we need to be convinced!

Malcolm Bristow

Winton Grove

Bolton