PNH hospital tour for two political candidates
Alec Shelbrooke, the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Elmet and Rothwell, and Ryan Stephenson, the Conservative Prospective Councillor for Garforth and Swillington visited the specialist PNH service at Leeds Teaching Hospital on Wednesday 31st March 2010.
The two Leeds-based candidates were introduced to Professor Hillmen, a internationally recognized PNH expert, and Louise Arnold, a PNH clinical nurse specialist, of the PNH Alliance, as well as other clinical and administrative members of staff in the PNH service. Professor Hillmen gave an introductory presentation on PNH, the role of the service, and the service’s national commissioning arrangements, which was followed by a question and answer session.
Following the presentation, Mr Shelbrooke and Mr Stephenson were walked around the service and introduced to three patients and their families who described their experiences of PNH and the treatment provided by the service. The patients talked very positively about their treatment, and drew favourable comparisons between their current health and their health prior to being referred to the service. Mr Shelbrooke and Mr Stephenson enquired about the patients’ views of the service, how their health has changed since being referred to the service, and their relationships with their consultants.
The visit then concluded with a tour of the screening laboratory and a discussion of the patient pathway from diagnosis to treatment with Professor Hillman and his colleagues.
All participants agreed that the tour was a success and it is hoped that further such visits can take place in the future.