PETER Ash who plays Paul Foreman who is living with MND, and Billy Mayhew played by MND Association Ambassador, Daniel Brocklebank, appeared on the BBC Breakfast sofa recently, to discuss their MND storyline.
The episode which aired on Wednesday 24 July shines a light on issues many people with MND face.
In a recent episode, Paul was advised by his Occupational Therapist that his stair lift was no longer safe to use, meaning he would become stuck in his flat.
The episode highlights some of the many problems people living with MND can encounter when dealing with their illness. Housing adaptations can be hard to get and slow to be installed into people’s homes. If they do get them, their condition can have progressed meaning more adaptations are then needed. Some people have died waiting and this must change now.
A letter to the editor, published in several newspapers signed by both Peter Ash and Daniel Brocklebank, highlights the issues of housing adaptations for people with MND.
Anna Barrow, who has faced her own housing adaptation issues since her MND diagnosis said:
“I fell at home while waiting for a stair lift to be fitted. I was confined to the downstairs and had no access to a shower or our bed. We ended up having to pay ourselves to get it fitted in time but that money had come from our savings that we were going to use to adapt other areas of the house. I am not working now and my husband has also had to give up work to look after me. The whole situation is worrying and frustrating.”
Speaking about the issues raised in the episode, Alex Massey, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Public Affairs at the MND Association said:
“Timely home adaptations are vital to ensuring that people with MND can live safely, independently and with dignity in their own homes in the time they have left to live.
“Via our Act to Adapt campaign, we have been urging local councils to use their discretionary powers to introduce a fast-track process and ensure all people have equal access to adaptations. We are also asking councils to develop accessible housing registers to enable people to find housing that meets their accessibility needs. We will not stop fighting for people with MND.”
MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. It can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe. The disease kills six people every day in the UK – almost 2,200 per year – and there is currently no cure.
For more information about the research funded by the MND Association, please visit: www.mndassociation.org/research/countdown-cure.
Want to support the MND Association so it can fund more direct care and support like this? Donate to their fundraising page.
