A former EastEnders star is calling on the Government to honour Dame Barbara Windsor’s wish for dementia research to be a national priority.
Kellie Shirley was ‘mentored’ by the actress during her time in Albert Square and is among a circle of friends and family continuing her campaign for more to be done to tackle the ‘heartbreaking’ condition.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk ahead of Dementia Action Week, which begins on Monday, Kellie said that dementia is already a ‘pandemic’ that will affect one in three people born in the UK today.
She has seen first-hand the ‘cruel’ toll of the life-limiting illness as a worker in care homes between acting jobs and as a close friend of Dame Barbara, who was a high-profile ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society before her death with dementia in December 2020.
Kellie, 39, has joined forces with Dame Barbara’s husband, Scott Mitchell, and other friends and family to continue the campaign.
The actress is among those who say the Government has yet to deliver on an election promise to double funding for research, despite Dame Barbara having delivered a petition about dementia care comprising more than 100,000 signatures to Downing Street in September 2019.
‘Barbara was just an incredible woman, she was not just an icon but a fantastic human being who was cheeky and naughty and fun to be around and really cared about people,’ Kellie said.
‘She was my mentor and seeing how her life changed dramatically because of dementia was quite upsetting.
‘She was an inspiration to me and I want to continue her work as much as I can in the privileged position I have as an actress.
‘Dementia will affect one in three people in their lifetimes, it’s one of the biggest killers alongside cancer. I feel like we’re making progress but we’ll only get there if the Government puts in money.’
Kellie played Carly Wicks in the BBC One soap but has experience as a dementia carer inbetween acting jobs. She was close to Dame Barbara, best known for her Carry On roles and as Queen Vic landlady Peggy Mitchell, during Carly’s appearances between 2006 and 2012.
Dame Barbara took her campaign calling for a ‘fix’ to the social care system to Downing Street, where she shared a kiss with Boris Johnson in a rare public appearance before her death at the age of 83.
However, many feel the Government has not delivered, with broadcaster Angela Rippon telling Metro.co.uk last month that there has been a ‘shameful’ betrayal over funding. This year, the week has a focus on social care, with the charity saying families are being forced to pay ‘catastrophic’ sums to ensure their loved ones have the support they need.
Kellie is lending her support to the week ahead of appearances alongside Peter Capaldi and Jack Lowden on re-opened big screens in Benediction, a biographical drama about the war poet Siegfried Sassoon, and revenge thriller Bull, by London to Brighton director Paul Andrew Williams.
‘Heartbreaking impact’
Kellie, a mother to five-year-old twins, is a keen advocate for the Society, which runs the week, and is also developing a script alongside indie production company Sprout Pictures on the theme of dementia.
‘Dementia doesn’t just rob you of memory, it robs you of life,’ she said.
‘It’s like the seven ages of man, where you go back to being a baby.
‘It’s really heartbreaking to see people who have had incredible lives and done amazing things to be lost not knowing where they are and sometimes not able to feed themselves and not knowing who their family is.
‘It’s a really cruel condition and it’s so frightening to see.
‘At the moment there’s no cure for it. If you’re diagnosed with cancer as awful as it is at least you know there’s a possibility you can have a treatment such as chemotherapy.
‘But with Alzheimer’s and dementia there just isn’t, and that’s scary.’
The charity warns that dementia is one of the greatest health challenges facing the UK and the cash injection for research promised by the Government is urgently needed.
The condition includes symptoms such as memory loss and can be caused by Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. There is no cure, although dozens of research projects are taking place across the world.
‘Families shoulder burden’
‘We need to pump loads of money into research so our children can see the light at the tunnel, even if we don’t,’ Kellie said.
‘Without a doubt it is a pandemic yet nothing’s being done about it.
‘Just before Barbara died she gathered a hundred thousand signatures together to hand in to Boris Johnson and he did pledge he would put some money into it and it hasn’t happened.
‘I know there’s a pandemic but ultimately this is even bigger than that.
‘It doesn’t just affect people with dementia but their families, there’s a pyramid of problems that it causes.’
The Government pledged to spend £300million on dementia over five years through its 2020 Challenge on Dementia, which began ahead of schedule.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to significantly increasing research funding to improve detection and care for people living with all kinds of dementia, and as part of our 2020 Challenge on Dementia, the Government has already spent £344million on dementia research in the past five years.
‘We have pledged to improve adult social care to give everyone who needs care the dignity and security they deserve and are committed to bringing forward a long-term plan to reform the social care system later this year.’
*To support Dementia Action Week (May 17-23, 2021) visit alzheimers.org.uk/DAW and for information, advice and support call Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Connect support line (0333 150 345) or visit the charity’s website.
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from metro.co.uk
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