Moray MP Douglas Ross met with campaigners from the Arrhythmia Trust and the Stars charity at Westminster recently during a visit prompted by one of his constituents.
Jane Bateson from Forres, campaigns and fundraises on behalf of the two charities which both offer support to people like herself who are prone to black outs and fainting spells. In Jane’s case she suffers from dysautonomia, a disfunction of the nervous system. The charity asked to meet Douglas who helped her access NHS support.
Commenting Douglas said: “I was delighted to be able to meet with representatives from the two charities and hear about the work they do supporting patients like Jane. It is worrying to hear that there are other Scottish patients who find themselves in a similar predicament without access to support or treatment. Much more needs to be done so that they can access a specialist, without having to fund a private trip to a doctor in London which is what Jane had to do.”
Jane commented: “Douglas helped me enormously by speaking with the NHS about the condition, and more importantly, he listened to me when three Scottish Health Ministers wouldn’t. I would like more recognition and support for this awful condition and I am grateful to Douglas for what he has done to raise awareness. It isn’t until you are diagnosed that you can seek treatment. I initially struggled with that as it was hard to get doctors to realise the Dysautonomia was the problem, but I am lucky now to have the support of a good doctor.”
Douglas added: “Jane’s story has a happy ending and she receives her medication from the NHS which isn’t specifically prescribed for dysautonomia but does help her symptoms. However, it doesn’t seem fair to me for anyone to have to fight to get a proper referral or to have to go south of the border to see a specialist.
“Patients deserve proper help and I am more than happy to support the Arrhythmia Trust and the Stars charity in their campaign to make a specialist doctor and units accessible to all Scottish patients.”
“The Scottish Government need to look again at this again and ensure that patients receive all the help they are entitled to, this is the message I heard loud and clear when I met with the campaigners in Parliament.”
Trudie Lobban MBE, founder, Arrhythmia Alliance said: “It is so important that arrhythmia services are improved right across the UK. My own daughter had to travel to Scotland to obtain a diagnosis even though we lived in the Cotswolds and all too often, we are hearing of people travelling from Scotland to London to seek a diagnosis.
“We are working closely with physicians, doctors, patients in Scotland to improve services for patients and only this week we are holding a cardiac update meeting in Inverness.
“The support that Douglas Ross MP is providing to raise awareness of the lack of arrhythmia services is proving invaluable.”