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www.markisherwood.com

August 28 2010

ISHERWOOD: AM BACKS ESTABLISHMENT OF SUPPORT GROUP FOR NORTH WALES AMPUTEES

AN Assembly Member who earlier this year called for better services for amputees in North Wales has given his support to a Wrexham amputee who is aiming to establish a support group for people in the region who have lost limbs.

Welsh Conservative AM, Mark Isherwood, met this week with Gordon McFadden who lost his left leg below the knee when he was just 18 months old in 1962 due to a deformity.

Mr McFadden is trying to set up a self user group (WASHA – Wrexham Amputee Self Help Alliance and User Group) for the area  serviced by the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre in Wrexham, which covers a vast areas stretching from Anglesey to Aberystwyth to Llandrindod Wells and back to North East Wales.

Mr Isherwood said: “For 10 years until 2007 a steering group was funded from a levy on the 47 UK Artificial Limb and Appliance Centres. This produced eight reports over the decade but support for it was withdrawn in 2007. With three centres in Wales, I agreed to ask the Health Minister what systems of measurement have been put in place to continue a statistical data base in Wales recording the numbers of existing and new amputees, trends etc so that services can be designed to match this.

“I was told that services are currently disjointed and disorganised being split between social services, housing, physiotherapy etc and that this needs joining up.”

Mr Isherwood added: “Mr McFadden is keen to establish contact with like-minded amputees, their family members or carers and health care professionals from across the region to form a group that can drive forward aspirations for a near normal mobile life.

“As he said; ‘No one can understand the needs of an amputee better than an amputee. We are therefore better placed to offer advice than any other group of people.’”

Mr Isherwood will also now write to the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre in Wrexham in support of Mr McFadden’s correspondence with them and commission research into potential sources of funding and data protection for people who choose to become members of this group.  

The number of amputees registered on Wales averages 3,275 annually. New amputees average 325 per annum and approximately 70 new amputees access services in Wrexham annually. Mr Isherwood was told there are 655 registered service users at the Wrexham Centre.

Mr McFadden has developed a website www.washa.btck.co.uk . People can also email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ENDS