A Shorten Labor Government will improve care for Australians with motor neurone disease and boost research into this debilitating illness.
Motor neurone disease (MND) destroys the nerve cells which control muscles, leading to a breakdown of movement, speech, swallowing and breathing.
While MND affects each person differently, the average life expectancy from diagnosis is just 2.5 years. Half of the people diagnosed are aged under 65. MND has no known cause, no effective treatments and no cure.
The 2,000 Australians who are living with MND deserve the best possible care, and a renewed effort to find better treatments – and, hopefully one day, a cure.
A Shorten Labor Government will invest $4 million over four years in specialist multidisciplinary care for Australians with MND. Labor’s investment will allow MND Australia to fund up to 10 specialist MND clinic coordinators around Australia.
MND clinics provide integrated care to people living with MND. From diagnosis onwards, they help to manage symptoms, prevent crises and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.
Evidence shows that specialist MND clinics help improve access to evidence-based therapies and clinical trials, improves quality of life, and ultimately improves survival times. The clinic coordinators play an integral role in ensuring a coordinated multidisciplinary approach to health care.
A Shorten Labor Government will also commit $1 million to MND research through the Cure for MND Foundation. The Foundation provides grants to researchers around Australia who are working on the causes, treatments and cure for MND.
Labor’s investment will boost the capacity of the Foundation to support this research. It will build on the money raised from the Foundation’s generous donors – including through today’s ‘Big Freeze 2’ at the MCG.
Labor’s commitment to MND care and research is further proof that Labor believes that all Australians deserve world-class health care, regardless of what they earn or where they live.
Authorised by G. Wright, Australian Labor Party, 5/9 Sydney Ave, Barton, ACT 2600