Scotland ‘My Life’ Campaign

On Thursday 8 June 2006 the Scottish Parliament debated a motion on the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s ‘My Life’ initiative. The campaign seeks to highlight the needs of people with muscular dystrophy in Scotland, including wheelchair provision and home adaptations. The campaign highlights the varying levels of service across the country - in some areas provision is generally good but some local authorities fail to provide the basic services which people need to lead independent lives.

Many Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Members attended the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on the day and met their Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) to tell their story of living with muscular dystrophy and urge their MSP to sign the motion in Parliament and attend the debate.

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Members and supporters then moved into the public gallery of the Parliament to watch the debate and hear speeches from Cathie Craigie (the sponsor of the motion) and others calling for improvements in the levels of service available across Scotland.

The debate was replied to by Lewis Macdonald, the deputy minister for health and community care, who congratulated the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s work to raise awareness of people’s needs.

The minister went on to say that:
"People with complex and frequently changing needs should have a key person who actively manages and co-ordinates all their needs." And added:
"It is worth emphasising that anyone who has needs that arise from a neuromuscular disorder—or anyone acting on their behalf—can seek an holistic assessment of their needs that will include consideration of the suitability of their home environment. A health or local authority professional will do the assessment and recommendations will be provided to housing officers if adjustments to the person's living environment are required. That assessment is clearly an important stage in dealing with neuromuscular conditions."

The campaign will continue and aims to hold the minister and NHS Scotland to the statements above and ensure that this is delivered for everyone in Scotland with muscular dystrophy, and that, after an assessment of need, the required services are delivered in every area of Scotland.

Read a supporter's view of the day.


The debate

You can view a transcript of the debate either by clicking the link (warning - this page takes a long time to access) or by downloading the Word document:



MSPs who signed up

A list of the MSPs who signed up to the motion can be downloaded: Signatories - June 2006.xls (14 kb) [xls]