PLANS to make Alzheimer's sufferers pay for drugs which ease the symptoms of the devastating disease have sparked outrage in Bolton.

Dementia support groups are furious at proposals by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence to stop NHS funding for prescriptions for drugs it says are not cost effective.

If the proposals are approved next month, patients already being prescribed drugs for Alzheimer's - including Donepezil, Rivastigminem, Galantamine and Memantine - will continue to be treated on the NHS.

But, from October, anyone diagnosed with dementia will have to pay for the drugs.

A spokesman for The Dementia Support Group in Bolton said: "We were outraged at this preliminary decision by NICE and we think it is wrong to conclude people with dementia aren't worth spending money on."

Brian Pilling, co-ordinator for the Bolton and district Alzheimer's Society, said: "These drugs really make a difference to people's lives, but NICE doesn't believe they are value for money.

"That £2.50 per person per day could change someone's life and it isn't just the sufferer, it is their carer as well because it makes it easier for them.

"We are deeply concerned if this approval is given the go-ahead because hundreds of local people won't have access to the drug.

"I want the people who have sat in their ivory towers and made this decision to have to look after someone with Alzheimer's and see the day-to-day reality of what it's like."

Bolton's Age Concern claims the decision discriminates against the elderly.

Chief executive Gareth Evans said: "We don't think any decision should be made that discriminates against vulnerable sections of our older communities.

"People will suffer because these drugs are no longer available and those who would benefit from them should be given access to them."

The drugs are not a cure for dementia, but can improve the symptoms for months or even years in some cases.

Dr Alice Seabourne, a consultant in old-age psychiatry, said: "The drugs don't benefit everyone, but help a significant proportion by slowing down the rate of progression of the disease.

"It seems terribly unfair that there might be people who will not benefit from them."

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 committee's provisional recommendations on the use of these drugs."