Council backs national Motor Neurone Disease campaign

Steve Blezard and Greg Broadhurst

A national campaign to support those living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is being backed by Rochdale Council.

The council has signed a Motor Neurone Disease Association charter, which pledges support to people with the condition in a number of ways to improve their quality of life.

Among the five points in the pledge is a commitment to treat people with MND with dignity and respect by offering them a personal care plan, access to communication aids and end-of-life care.

The council has also committed to helping people with MND maximise their quality of life by helping them quickly access disability benefits and equipment like wheelchairs.

The council also supports moves to give the carers of people with the condition proper access to counselling, respite services and benefits.

Steve Blezard, Assistant Director of Adult Care at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We already deliver much of the support outlined in the pledge, but felt it was important to back the MND association and help raise awareness of this debilitating condition. Many of the things in the charter, like treating people with dignity and respect, are values that the council strongly believes in and puts into practice every day.”

Motor Neurone Disease affects seven in every 100,000 people in the UK and around 400 people in Greater Manchester have the condition.

Greg Broadhurst, from the Motor Neurone Disease Association, said: “We’re delighted that Rochdale Borough Council has backed our charter, as the support of key organisations like this will really help when we take the pledge Number 10 Downing Street in June.

“As well as signing the pledge, the council will be identifying a social worker who will take a special interest in Motor Neurone Disease. They will have additional training, provide advice to other adult care staff and keep in close contact with the local branch of the MND society.”