New Support Group for People with Motor Neurone Disease at Lindsey Lodge Hospice and Healthcare in Partnership with Motor Neurone Disease Association.

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) to offer a dedicated support group for people living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in North Lincolnshire.

There are an estimated 40 people in North and North East Lincolnshire who are living with MND, and this group aims to provide much-needed face-to-face support. By combining the expertise of both organisations, the group will offer a comprehensive range of support services.

The group will meet on the first Tuesday of every month at our wellbeing centre to offer; emotional and practical support such as advice on equipment and signposting services. They will discuss things like symptom management, planning ahead and carers support. Members from the Motor Neurone Disease Association will be present with expert advice as well as members from the Lindsey Lodge Clinical Team.

This partnership offers an extension to the existing support we already offer at Lindsey Lodge to people living with MND and their carers. Lindsey Lodge support MND patients with respite care, our wellbeing service and our inpatient unit for things like symptom management and end of life care. Offering this specific regular group helps us to expand our offering to our existing patients, as well as engage with new local people who perhaps are not aware of the free care they could be accessing at Lindsey Lodge.

Karen Andrew, Operational Matron at Lindsey Lodge tells us more.

At Lindsey Lodge we focus on patient need, and we recognise that this group could be hugely beneficial for people living with MND. Everyone’s journey is different and this group will not only allow local people to access support relevant to them, but it will also help them to make connections with other people who are going through something similar and build an environment where peer to peer support can also thrive. Working in partnership with MNDA is a great way to ensure we have an expert voice in the room and also allows us to have a bigger impact together.

Colin Pearson Area Support Co-ordinator from the MNDA said

Hospices are unfortunately surrounded by the stigma and presumption that setting foot through the door, means you are going to die. However, for those people diagnosed with MND, and when their world is turned upside down, hospices can become an integral part of the network of support and community that establishes itself around both the person living with, and affected by MND.  

The newly established MND Well-being Group at Lindsey Lodge Hospice is an exciting development for those patients currently receiving support from Brigg Rehab Team as additional support will be available for them and their families when they need it most.

The Group will allow people to access the Hospice and receive relaxing and non-threatening support, thereby allowing relationships to develop naturally with an additional team of supportive staff and professionals, as well as the development of a supportive community of peers. This ultimately helps make some of the more difficult conversations and decisions associated with forward planning and symptom management less distressing, and hopefully results in an improved quality of life.

The groups first meeting will take place on Tuesday 5^th November from 2pm to 4pm at the wellbeing centre at Lindsey Lodge. The group is completely free to access and is open to people with Motor Neurone Disease and their carers. Refreshments will be provided.

For further information please contact Karen Andrew on LLH.enquiries@nhs.net or call 01724 270835.