7. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Motor neurone disease

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:31 pm on 1 December 2021.

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Photo of Gareth Davies Gareth Davies Conservative 5:31, 1 December 2021

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Llywydd, and thank you to everyone who has taken part in this debate this afternoon, and a very important debate. And a huge thank you especially to my colleague Peter Fox for taking forward the motion we have before us this afternoon. As Peter highlighted, motor neurone disease is a terrible illness, without any cure and a shockingly rapid progression that tragically robs its victims of their life in such a short and painful time. Half of all sufferers lose their battle to this disease within two years of diagnosis. During this short fight, MND robs the brain of the ability to communicate with the body. It can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and even breathe. The last thing MND sufferers need is to have to fight with their local authority for the adaptations needed for them to live safely and with dignity in their own homes.

But this is the reality that those living with MND have to face in today's Wales. Despite actions from the Welsh Government, we have a postcode lottery of home adaptations, and if, like me, you want to end that lottery, I urge you to support our motion today. We will be supporting Plaid Cymru's amendment, as we too believe that Wales is being left behind when it comes to medical research, particularly into neurological conditions. As Rhun ap Iorwerth pointed out, housing adaptations for people with MND is poor. Laura Anne Jones expanded on that with the postcode lottery, and the exacerbations that happen as a result of that. Sam Rowlands mentioned a personal story with the late, great Councillor William Knightly from Towyn. I remember him fondly, as many probably from north Wales on our benches will do, too.

Minister, it was promising to hear the Welsh Government's work on clinical trials for treatment, and recognising the need for clinical trials, because I think if we're going to take this forward and really look towards treatments on this, we need to be leading on trying to develop some research on this so that we're heading in the right direction. It was sad to hear about your uncle Robert and his personal struggle with the disease. I'd just like to tie up today's debate by urging Members to support our motion this afternoon. Thank you very much.