Rehab benefits from fundraising efforts of polio survivors and their families while ignoring their responsibility to those impacted by cruel disease.
Press Release –Tuesday 13th February, 2018
Pictured are the campaign group ‘Justice for Polio Survivors’ protesting today at Rehab premises in Sandymount, to highlight Rehab’s refusal to support or help people with disabilities arising from polio, while it continues to use Park House, paid for by polio survivors and their families.
Park House, its outbuildings and 3.5 acres in Stillorgan, was acquired by the Polio Fellowship in the 1960s through the tireless fundraising efforts of people who had polio and their families. Since the merger with the Rehab Group however this important asset is no longer being used for the benefit of polio survivors. Despite promises, polio survivors are no longer receiving services and feel abandoned by the organisation they funded and founded.
The Polio Fellowship of Ireland’s constitution states that its purpose is to “develop, train, encourage, equip, educate and rehabilitate sufferers from poliomyelitis” and “to speak for them and to represent their interests”.
Polio survivors’ needs are increasing as they age especially with the impact of Post Polio Syndrome, a condition that exacerbates their original disability and causes chronic fatigue and pain. ‘Justice for Polio Survivors’ are protesting what they see as a betrayal, by the very organisation that should be representing and supporting them, to live out their lives with dignity.
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About Polio Survivors Ireland
It is estimated that as many as 7,000 people who had polio live in Ireland and are increasingly impacted by the late effects of polio as they age. Having been established in 1993 to support people who had polio, Polio Survivors Ireland is currently the only organisation providing help, information, aids, appliances and therapies to those who have needs relating to polio, in order to help survivors live out their lives with dignity.
They work to raise awareness of the issues faced by polio survivors and to educate medical professionals, social care providers and health policy makers about the reality for all those still impacted by the legacy of polio.
For further information contact:
Emma Clarke Conway, Express PR, emma@expresspr.ie or 087 2981944
Fran Brennan, CEO, ceo@ppsg.ie or 087 2600575
Polio Survivors Ireland, Unit 319, Capel Building, Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 7. 01 8898920. www.polio.ie