- 22/04/2013
- Posted by: Joyce Watson MS
- Category: Feature
Joyce Watson AM has been to see a Pembrokeshire charity that is improving the lives of people living with Multiple Sclerosis.
On Monday (15 April), Mrs Watson visited the HOPE Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre at Honeyborough Business Park in Neyland.
Chairman Ken Brombley, Directors Angela Samuel and Ken Edwards, Centre manager Rick Stanton and Secretary Margaret Brace showed Mrs Watson around the facility and explained how the on-site Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Physiotherapy, and other available therapies, provide relief to MS sufferers.
The AM also met members receiving treatments and talked about the opportunity to develop Honeyborough Business Park under the Welsh Government’s Haven Enterprise Zone.
Speaking after her visit, Mrs Watson said:
“The level of support and care that HOPE provides to its clients and their families is truly remarkable.
“As the Chair of the Assembly’s cross-party group for Stroke, I was especially interested to learn that HOPE also serves the needs of Stroke patients as well as some Motor Neurone Disease patients. The local Parkinsons Group also make use of the Centre on Wednesdays.”
Every year, more than 3,000 therapy sessions are carried out at the HOPE facility, which has been helping to maintain MS sufferers’ mobility and wellbeing since it opened in 1986. The centre is currently open four days a week, with the aim being to increase that to five days in the near future.
Apart from the centre manager and the physiotherapists, all the staff are volunteers – providing care , support, advice, counselling and information to individuals and their families. The centre costs over £100,000 per year to run. Around one third of the costs are met by the Local Health Board, a third comes from membership fees and donations for treatments and the final third is raised by fundraising endeavours.
On the evening of Saturday 22 June, St Davids Cathedral will host a gala fundraising concert. For more information about the concert or for more information about HOPE, contact 01646 600384 or email [email protected].
For more information contact Joyce Watson’s office on 02920 898972 or on www.joycewatson.co.uk.
