Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-12-18-Speech-4-021"
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"en.20031218.1.4-021"2
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"Mr President, I thank Mrs Aaltonen, the rapporteur, and Louise McVay, who brought the petition leading to this report on multiple sclerosis. Mr Whitehead, one of Louise's East Midlands MEPs, has had to leave to take part in a vote on another vital health matter, and he sends his apologies.
MS affects people in different ways: some days can be good, some days can be bad. However, it is a deteriorating condition with no cause and no cure. I became involved in working on the issue after meeting an active group of Scottish MS patients. They contacted me, told me of the impact the disease has on their daily lives, and made me aware that Scotland has the highest rate of MS in the world. I have since sponsored the first European MS Awareness Seminar, held in the European Parliament, and set up Parliament's MS interest group.
Primarily the petition before us tries to raise awareness of access to not only medicines but also to the treatment of patients with MS. It is quite fitting that, as we end the 2003 European Year for People with Disabilities, we reflect on what we can positively do to help people with MS.
No discrimination at the workplace would be a good start. A number of people I have spoken with have lost their jobs because their employer was not flexible or understanding about MS. That is why implementing an EU directive on equal treatment in employment is so important. Access to medicines and new treatments is essential. It is timely that just yesterday this Parliament voted in a new pharmaceutical package that hopefully will lead not only to more innovation but also to better access to cheaper medicines.
I am glad that some British hospitals have now introduced MS nurses. Many people working in the medical field do not know how to treat patients with MS. I had no idea that a needle in the skin could perhaps inflict unbearable pain on someone with MS. Better recognition and understanding of MS is needed. MS patients deserve better. I thank Louise again for bringing this before us today."@en1
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