WORCESTERSHIRE has been given £400,000 to pay for revolutionary new drugs which slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease.

Worcestershire Health Authority has agreed to fund drugs, including Aricept, after the National Institute of Clinical Excellence decided they could be provided on the NHS.

The cash is enough to pay for around 300 patients a year to be treated with the drugs, which can be used at an early stage of Alzheimer's to slow its progress.

The cost of an individual's treatment - including drugs, assessment and visits to clinics - is up to £1,400 a year.

But Worcestershire Community and Mental Health NHS Trust has stressed the drug will only be given out to patients who will really benefit from the treatment, and it will only be prescribed with the agreement of a consultant.

"I think this will hopefully ease a lot of worry as the issue has been a source of much distress and confusion between patients and Trusts," said Dr Ian McPherson, director of mental health at the Trust.

"I feel we can go positively with the knowledge there's a planned amount of money for the drugs.

"There's no suggestion it will be able to stop the progress of Alzheimer's, but it can be prescribed for a short time to help.

"There are a lot of carers out there who are worried about this."

The NICE committee concluded the drug could be prescribed to patients on the NHS, but health authorities have had to decide how much cash will be given to fund the treatment.

"This confirms what we have always said, in as much we would implement the recommendations by NICE once the procedures to do so were in place," said Professor Brian McCloskey, Director of Public Health at the Health Authority.

Alzheimer's sufferers and support groups were delighted at the news.

"We're really pleased there is now something available to help patients and their carers," said Sylvia Parker, secretary of the Worcester branch of the Alzheimer's disease Society.