A Perth woman with MS is speaking out as a report reveals disabled people are already at breaking point due to the cost of living crisis.
MS Society has launched an emergency campaign because they say people with the condition are being left hungry, skipping meals and using food banks.
They say everyone with disabilities, not just MS, is being hit hard.
And Alison Ellett, who has had the condition for eight years, tells us she’s facing sacrifices to heat her house as energy prices soar.
MS Society’s new reports lays bare the stark consequences as people struggle to make ends meet.
Not enough money for food
Shockingly, it says one in four people with multiple sclerosis (MS) do not have enough money for food.
And one in 20 have been forced to use a food bank in the past year.
The report also reveals:
- One in three people with MS can’t afford to eat balanced meals
- One in five people with MS don’t have enough money to pay for the vital medication or treatments they need
Others with MS say they’ve had to reduce or stop treatments, risking greatly worsening symptoms. Or borrow money to make ends meet – including those who are working.
‘Don’t know how they’ll get through winter’
Morna Simpkins, director of MS Society Scotland, says: “The cost of living crisis has impacted all of our lives.
“But people with disabilities, such as MS, have been hit especially hard.
“More than 15,000 people in Scotland live with MS and it can make it harder to do everyday things like walk, talk, eat and think.
“These things become even more difficult when people can’t afford to eat an adequate amount, heat their homes or pay for medication or treatments.
“Many people living with MS have told us they don’t know how they are going to get through the winter.”
Sacrifices to heat the house
Alison Ellett, 56, lives in Perth and has relapsing remitting MS.
She works less than two days a week and receives some benefit via Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Her symptoms include problems with mobility and balance, fatigue, a painful constriction of the torso known as ‘MS hug’, and a sensitivity to both heat and cold, which can make her symptoms worse.
Alison, a peer supporter for MS Society, says she has no choice but to put the heating on and knows she will have to sacrifice something else to pay for it.
She says: “Some people with MS, and some other conditions, have a cold hypersensitivity called Raynaud’s.
“Your extremities – fingers, toes, even your nose – are extremely painful and don’t function well.
“It feels like your fingers are burning and you fumble.
Disabled living crisis
“A lot of the suggestions the government is making about dealing with the energy costs, such as turning down the thermostat and putting on an extra layer of clothing, are just impractical for people with a condition like this.
“The government is being naïve and underestimating the difficulties people are going to encounter as a result of the cost of living crisis.”
“It’s just rude to assume everybody can do the things they’re suggesting because a lot of us can’t.
“We live within our means and we’re very careful about that.
“My heating is on now, because there is not a viable alternative.
“What are we going to give up in order to pay for it? I don’t know at this point.
“I am angry, incandescent.”
Breaking point
The national charity has launched an emergency campaign and petition which calls on the UK Government to help people with MS get through the winter.
Conversation