Peter Aldous MP for Waveney is backing the MS Society’s Treat Me Right campaign, which is calling for the right treatment at the right time for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). 

 

As part of the campaign, the MS Society is warning that thousands of people with MS could be left behind as new NHS medicines emerge that are out of reach for many with the condition.

 

The charity estimates that a quarter (27,000) of all people with MS in the UK might begin taking a licensed ‘disease modifying’ drug (DMD) if care was consistent and all people with MS had access to appropriate information and support to make decisions about their care.

 

There are now nine MS drugs approved for use on the NHS, but thousands with MS are not taking any treatment and many are in the dark about the drugs that have the potential to alter the devastating impact of their condition.

 

Peter Aldous MP said: 

“Too many people with MS are not getting access to the treatments they need to help them manage their condition. I’m backing this campaign to ensure that everyone in the Waveney area can get hold of the treatments they require at the time they want them.”

 

Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of the MS Society said:  

“For too long, people with MS have faced significant barriers in accessing the treatments they need, the information to decide what’s right for them and the specialists who can help. New, effective medicines are emerging that could dramatically change the landscape of treatment for people with relapsing MS, but the years of research that led to their development will count for nothing if people can’t get hold of them.  We’re worried the gap is widening between the best care some people receive and the worst care many more experience. There are people going years without any treatment at all, as their MS worsens, unaware there could be effective, new options out there for them. We understand the pressures the NHS is facing, but there are licensed medicines that can transform the lives of people with MS, and it’s frankly shameful that they are out of reach for so many.”

 

To mark the start of MS Week today, the charity is launching the Treat Me Right campaign and is calling for:

 

 

MS is a neurological condition affecting more than 100,000 people in the UK, and is most commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 – 40 years old. MS can get steadily worse, or remain unpredictable throughout people’s lives.