IMNDA campaigner Charlie Bird with a check for €275,000, raised from the ‘Climb with Charlie’ event last April. The money will be used for research into Motor Neurone Disease.

New MND nurse for Westmeath thanks to 'Climb with Charlie'

Published: Fri 25 Nov 2022, 1:56 PM

Last updated: Fri 25 Nov 2022, 1:57 PM

The IMNDA have announce that they have started the recruitment process to hire an additional clinical nurse specialist to cover Westmeath, thanks to funds raised by Charlie Bird and Climb with Charlie.

The event generated more than €1.7 million for those living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Thanks to Charlie and Claire Bird, and everyone who climbed and donated towards Climb with Charlie in April, the IMNDA established the ‘Charlie Bird Development Fund’, which was created after a national consultation process with the MND community.

The objective of the fund is to provide supports to help those with MND to live independent lives as far as possible in their own homes and within their own communities.

The IMNDA outreach nursing service consists of five regional nurses who help 410 people with MND living in the 26 counties.

The new nurse position will cover the counties of Westmeath, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, and Kildare, and will look after approximately 75 people living in the midlands. Having access to an MND Nurse can sometimes be the difference between coping and not coping at all.

IMNDA CEO Lillian McGovern said: “We are pleased to announce, thanks to the Charlie Bird Development fund, that we have already started to recruit a new nurse specialist.

“For so long, our nursing team has struggled with large caseloads as well as having to travel long distances to support our clients – thanks to Charlie and Claire, we now have the opportunity to provide a clinical nurse specialist in every region and ensure that our clients receive the highest standard of support they need in their own homes.

“We are also delighted to contribute funding towards a clinical research project into improved treatments for MND and overseen by Professor Orla Hardiman of Trinity College, Dublin.

“These are the first of the initiatives that we can now offer because of Charlie, and we are so grateful to him for his great efforts in helping families living with MND.”

Prof Hardiman said researchers have made great progress in Ireland over the years, and “we will continue to work towards a future world where MND becomes a treatable condition”.

The Charlie Bird Development Fund will also provide:

• Funding for those living with MND who wish to avail of a voice banking service

• A respite ‘recharge’ grant for a hotel stay away from home for families in taking breaks in comfortable and convenient locations.

- A transport grant to enable clients make their MND clinic appointments in comfort

- A care giver respite grant to alleviate the burden of care felt by many