CELEBRATIONS were in order as a health and social care team were handed a pretigious award from the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.
The Solihull Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) based at the Marie Curie Hospice have been handed the Extra Mile Award by the charity for all the support it offers to those sufferering the disease, and their loved ones at monthly clinics and groups by Councillor Max McLoughlin.
The group, coordinated by Fiona Dawes, a Marie Curie occupational therapist, run a MND Network group, where healthcare professionals coordinate support for patients in the local area.
Fiona said: “It’s great to be recognised by the MND Association for the services we have developed over the years for people with MND and their families in the area.
“We hope the patients and families feel they get a supported service.
“It is the hospice multi-disciplinary team along with the wider MDT of community teams, the MND care centre in Birmingham and the ongoing support of the MND Association which make it succeed.”
The team introduced the nurse-led clinic two years ago.
Once a month, the MND Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Care Centre leads a team of people, which can include the occupational therapist, physiotherapist, a community speech therapist and the MND Association regional advisor, who work together to assess the patient’s needs.
Mick Crowther’s wife, Carol, was diagnosed with MND in 2014. He said: “We have been to almost every support group and the staff have helped us so much.
“It’s a social gathering in a casual setting but everyone really goes above and beyond to do what they can to support Carol and myself to live the best possible life.”
“MND is such a daunting thing. When this happened to us, I didn’t realise what support was available – we thought we’d be alone.
“But the support group has been everything we’ve needed.
“One session that has really stuck with me is the meeting when the carers had time together to talk through what it’s like caring for a loved one.
“We spoke openly and it was so therapeutic to speak to people in the same position as me. I realised I wasn’t alone in what I was going through every day.”
