MNDA Support Grants
The MND Association can provide support grants for people living with Motor Neurone Disease, to help with equipment, care and quality of life.
There are various grant types, including MND Care Grant, MND Quality of Life Grant, Carers and Cost of Living grants.
The Association may award a grant, where a health or social care professional has identified a need, or where support would improve quality of life. Please visit the MND Association website page to read more about the criteria and access the application form.
Our branch may be able to assist with some of the grants noted on the website page above, but you should always first consult the MND Support services team for their experienced guidance.
Call 01604 611802 or email support.services@mndassociation.org.
Benefits and Entitlements
As someone living with Motor Neurone Disease, or as their carer, you may be entitled to benefits and entitlements. There are lots of different allowances and benefits, and the MND Association provides a benefits advice service by telephone, email and webchat
Telephone: 0808 801 0620 (free to call)
Email and Webchat: www.mndassociation.org/benefitsadvice
The MND Association regularly update their helpful guidance, to help everyone understand their rights and their guidance on benefits, information sheet 10A, can be found here. You can also find information on www.citizensadvice.org.uk and www.turn2us.org.uk. The Turn2us site includes a useful benefits calculator
The national benefits advice service had been developed following the successful pilot project delivered here in Greater Manchester with Citizens Advice Manchester.
Wheelchair Service / Communication Aid Issues
If you have issues with Wheelchair Services or Communication aids in Greater Manchester, the MND Association wants to know.
They have dedicated e-mail addresses you can contact, where they will look into the issue and try to utilise their contacts to help.
Wheelchair Services
wheelchairqueries@mndassociation.org
Communication Aids
communicationaids@mndassociation.org
We hope that services will usually run smoothly, but the Association want to tackle issues where they exist.
Benevolent Funds
Turn2us
Turn2us, the independent charity that helps people access the money available to them – through welfare benefits, grants and other help. The free, accessible website has been designed to help individuals find appropriate sources of financial support, quickly and easily, based on individual needs and circumstances.
For more information go to the Turn2us website.
Travel
Thinking of taking a holiday?
Obtaining affordable travel insurance when you are living with MND isn’t always easy. This is largely due to the lack of understanding and knowledge about the effects of MND within the insurance industry. The MND Association continues to campaign on your behalf, lobbying the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and their members to promote equality and fairness, so people living with MND can obtain affordable and appropriate insurance cover in the near future.
When applying for Travel insurance you will invariably be referred to a medical screening line. You will be asked a series of medical questions designed to establish how the disease affects you.
These may include the following:
- Do you have a pre-existing condition?
- What type of MND do you have?
- How long have you been diagnosed?
- Have you been given a prognosis?
- Are you awaiting any test results?
- Have you had inpatient treatment within the past three months?
- Questions about your independence
Other important things to bear in mind:
- Insurers tend to consider an illness is ‘terminal’ where a prognosis has been given
- For the majority of people living with MND, this doesn’t apply
- The question about test results will not refer to routine tests which may be carried out during a check-up
- If you are awaiting other test results, you will NOT be offered cover, not even for an ingrown toenail!
- Insurers do not like to offer cover to anyone who has received recent inpatient treatment
- Insurers may add a high excess to premiums if you have been diagnosed for over 12 months
Must do’s:
- We would strongly recommend you obtain at least three quotes and go for the most competitive, bearing in mind the advice already given
- When you receive your policy document, check that it really does include everything it says on the tin!
- Taking aids and equipment? Think about getting them covered
- Travelling in the UK? You may still wish to consider taking out cover, especially if you are taking any items of equipment with you
Want to know more? Please contact MND Connect for more information.
Telephone 03457626262 or email mndconnect@mndassociation.org.
Had a bad experience?
The MND Connect team say:
“We would be really interested to learn about any difficulties people have experienced when obtaining travel insurance. This will enable us to continue to lobby the ABI and their members on your behalf, so that meaningful changes are brought about in the industry, so people living with MND get the fair deal they so deserve.”
Bespoke Equipment
All of the ideas that worked for individuals and that are contained on the website are not endorsed by the Motor Neurone Disease Association or other professionals and if people are considering the adaptation of equipment then contact with the relevant Health Social Care Professional would be most advisable as any changes may unintentionally have an adverse effect on the user and render warranties null and void.
If you or someone you know with MND need assistance in adapting or making a piece of equipment to make life easier, or to improve its quality, it is worth contacting Remap. Remap is a charity, working through a nationwide network of dedicated volunteers who use their ingenuity and skills to help people with disabilities to achieve much-desired independence in some aspect of their lives, or to enjoy leisure opportunities previously closed to them.
Remap’s unique pieces of special equipment are tailor-made or adapted and the equipment and time is given free to the people who need them. They will not provide assistance if there is an existing piece of propriety equipment that can be purchased, but are happy to tailor them specifically for the person.
Euan’s Guide – Disability Access Review
An issue with many can be finding venues, locally, or somewhere on Holiday that can facilitate wheelchair access. This can be shopping, restaurants, hotels, or even public venues anywhere you travel.
A great site to use is Euan’s Guide, set up by Euan Macdonald, which carries reviews on many places to visit, and continues to grow! Euan lives with Motor Neurone Disease himself, and set up the site, to help others avoid the frustration of being able to find accessible venues.
We have a page covering Manchester, with many reviews already (and our fab pics) where you can leave reviews, please click here!
