Stem Cell Research "must continue" says Chairman

Startling facts about Prisoners' health

Mrs Turner, Cllr Hunter, Cllr Turner, Cllr Lightley, Mr Hunter
Mrs Turner, Cllr Hunter, Cllr Turner, Cllr Lightley, Mr Hunter
The AGM of the branch was held on Tuesday 5 July at Chester-le-Street Civic Centre. Guests included Cllr Allen Turner, Chairman of Chester-le-Street District Council and Mrs Turner, The Rt. Worshipful Mayor of Durham City, Cllr John Lightley and Cllr Edna Hunter, Vice-Chair of Durham County Council and Mr Hunter.

In his report to the meeting, the Branch Chairman, Patrick Nethercot, outlined the changes as the Alzheimer's Society is being re-organised. He also made a plea for research into the use of stem cells to continue, and said that those who opposed this on religious grounds were "mistaken". He continued, "It is a difficult issue for many, but if we believe that God values life, then he values all equally, and that includes those suffering from diseases that such research can help, which of course includes dementia. We must continue to press the case for such research if the lives of so many people - and their families - are not to continue to be blighted for many more years to come." He thanked the three local councils for their support.

The Branch Manager Jennifer Brown gave her report on the work of the branch over the past year, outlining the constant battle for funding, declaring that although a Lottery bid had been rejected, the branch was a "can do" organisation and she was hopeful of a renewed application. She also that while there had been some contraction in some areas of service because of the loss of funding, in others there was growth and real achievement to celebrate.

Debbie Keenan, the Branch's Care Services Manager, said that Care Services continued to flourish despite all the problems. She outlined the program of renewal at "The Green" Day Centre and thanked those who had made it possible. The Younger People's programme was thriving but she did make a special mention of the Outreach service which she said did always get the recognition is deserved, perhaps because it was not centre based and was one-to-one, but it was of real value to the Service Users and Carers.

Steve Allen, the Branch Treasurer, referred back to his dire warnings of last year and was pleased to announce that while the finances of the branch were as ever desperately thin, there had been some improvement over the past year and the situation was a little less dire.

Conduct of the meeting was then handed over to Mark Walker, Head of Branch Services for the Alzheimer's Society, in order that elections could take place. Before that he addressed the meeting about issues of the NICE recommendations and urged all to lobby MPs, and raise publicity in an attempt to pre-empt NICE confirming their previous position that dementia drugs were too expensive - at a mere £2.50 a day! He also supported the Chairman's remarks on stem cell research and went on to praise the work of the Branch, saying that in his wide experience of the Society in his area from Berwick to Birmingham, the Durham and Chester-le-Street was the best and said this was due to the strong leadership of the Branch Manager and Chairman with strong teamwork. The previous committee members were then re-elected unopposed along with two new members to swell the ranks.

Dr. Dochery informs and entertains
Dr. Dochery informs and entertains
The guest speaker at the meeting was Dr. Brian Docherty, Medical Director for the Durham Cluster of Prisons for Durham and Chester-le-Street PCT. The Chairman promised a presentation from Dr. Docherty that would be both informative and entertaining and Dr. Docherty did not disappoint. In a fascinating and witty talk that at times had people laughing out loud, he outlined the parlous state of the health of many prisoners and pointed out that the vast majority of prisoners later return to the community so it was in society's interest and well as that of the prisoner that they receive good health care. Although at any one time there are about 75,000 people in prison, it is a transient population and that 200,000 people a year pass through the system, likened to a revolving door. The range of infectious diseases prevalent in prisons is far higher and more dangerous than many had realised, and 90% of prisoners suffer from some kind of mental health problems. He likened prisons as being to infectious disease what Kew Gardens is to rare and exotic plants. The increasing mobility of world populations has led to some old diseases returning to the UK and especially to the prison population. Surprisingly, prisoners are not cared for by the NHS, but this is about to change. Not all in the 'health community' welcome this with open arms, but it is hoped that it will lead to improvements in prisoners' health.

The Chairman gave a vote of thanks to Dr. Docherty to close the meeting.

Return to Home page | |