When the coronavirus pandemic started, people living with MND were left off the Government’s ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ list - despite being some of the most isolated and at-risk people during lockdown.
Thanks to your support we launched our #GetMNDonTheList campaign, which swiftly began to gain traction. Film star and MND Association patron, Eddie Redmayne OBE, signed up to help, alongside rugby heroes Doddie Weir OBE and Rob Burrow – both of whom have MND.
Together they joined more than 5,200 MND Association supporters and 120 MPs calling on the government to act. Eddie Redmayne also spoke at an online meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on MND, and passed a powerful message to the government:
"It is astonishing to me that those living with MND have not been automatically included on the ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ list. The Northern Irish government has updated their list of extremely vulnerable people and it’s vital England and Wales do the same."
Eddie Redmayne OBE
Unfortunately, the government chose not to follow the example of the Northern Ireland Executive and agree to give people with MND in England and Wales automatic ‘extremely vulnerable’ status.
However, the campaign helped many people with MND to register themselves as ‘extremely vulnerable’. We’ve worked with medical professionals and NHS England to ensure that as many people with MND as possible are registered by their clinician. And vitally, we’ve proved that people living with MND, and those who care for them, are a force to be reckoned with.