Members of the House of Lords targeted in 42p campaign to secure proper healthcare for adults with CP.
On World CP Day we sent a card with 42p attached to it to every MP, highlighting that for just 42p for every adult with CP in the UK, we could achieve proper health provision for our community. This week we sent the same card to more than 800 members of the House of Lords. This corresponded with the commons adjournment debate secured by Paul Maynard on Care transition for adults and young people with Cerebral Palsy and the debate in the Lords on Adult Social Care.
Why 42p?
Earlier this year, a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cerebral Palsy, commissioned by the charity, laid out the minimum requirements for proper coordinated healthcare for adults with cerebral palsy. Key features include the need for regional specialised support services, clear care pathways, and annual patient reviews.
We also commissioned a health economics study which costed the whole package at around £20m per annum, equivalent to 42p per day for each of the UK’s 130,000 adults with CP.
There would be considerable savings from preventing more costly healthcare later, and, with healthier people being able to work, decreasing the costs of benefits and increasing tax revenue. Indeed, the health economics study showed that just 4,000 more adults with Cerebral Palsy gaining employment would on its own generate an economic gain of £80m per annum.
On pure economics, the case is made, and should be compelling to policy-makers. But what should be even more compelling is simple fairness and compassion – that all adults with CP deserve the chance to live their fullest lives.