MS nurse on the way

GUERNSEY'S London to Paris rowers have achieved their final goal ' the island is to have its own MS nurse. 'It's brilliant news,' said row organiser Rob Platts.

'The most amazing thing about this is those guys who did the row. They did months of planning and training to have 79 hours of agony crossing the Channel.

'But they had 79 hours to ease the years of pain and suffering of many people on the island. They thought that was a valid trade.'

An MS sufferer himself, Mr Platts said that a nurse would make a tremendous difference to the 120 Bailiwick sufferers.

Colin Fallaize, the row team leader, was also delighted.

'Job done,' he said.

'The row has been a success and I look forward to meeting this new person, whoever they may be. You set out to achieve something and we're extremely proud to have brought it all this way.

'It still amazes me to think back on the support we received ' '120,000 is a huge amount of money to raise. The people of Guernsey have surpassed themselves.'

With a world record of 79hrs 9min. 23sec. behind him, Mr Fallaize said he would take on another challenge. 'If it was the right challenge and the need was there, I wouldn't think I'd have a problem getting a team together.'

Ron Hendry, the treasurer for the MS Society, was pleased that negotiations with Health and Social Services had gone so well.

'There is every hope that a suitable candidate will be found in the near future,' he said.

'Everyone in the society thinks this is a major step forward. It will very much improve many aspects of the patient care for those suffering from MS.'

He added that Health and Social Services understood the need to do more for those with the illness.

'However, like many organisations, they were constrained by their budgets but the financial assistance the local MS society was able to provide, thanks to the London to Paris Row and the generosity of many people in Guernsey, made all the difference.'

The nurse will be employed part-time for the next five years in a co-ordinating role delegating all the different services and health professionals that are needed for each sufferer.

Tina Poxon, director of continuing and community care services, said that the news could not have happened at a better time. She thanked the rowers and fundraisers who had made it possible.

David Hughes director of Health and Social Services was unavailable for comment yesterday.

It is not yet known what will happen after the five-year contract is over but Mr Hendry said that most UK health services saw several major benefits of a specialised nurse and did their best to continue the service.

'MS nurses help to reduce the amount of acute admissions to hospital because the MS population is well cared for. Pressure is taken off local GPs and society benefits because MS sufferers remain in the workforce for longer.

'If there's no funding after five years, we might just have to take the rowers out again.'