Meningitis petition to Downing Street

A DELEGATION, including people from Warrington, delivered a petition to Downing Street to get support for child victims of meningitis.
The Meningitis Trust launched a campaign to get youngsters the support they need following the disease. It has reached its first target – getting 14,000 names on its petition.
They want automatic assessments at school for children who have had meningitis, enabling after-effects from the disease to be spotted and support put in place.
The petition was delivered by a delegation including Maureen and Ben Evans from Warrington, other young survivors of the disease and supporters of the charity.
Maureen helped organise a competition between youngsters to see who could collect the most petition signatures. Her six-year-old son Ben was diagnosed with the disease three years ago so she knows how devastating the disease can be. She helped gather 1,400 signatures.
The campaign started in autumn when research into the disease (meningococcal group B strain) uncovered the truth about its real impact on young victims.
It found they are considerably more at risk of problems such as mental health, epilepsy, and speech, communication and hearing difficulties.
They are calling for every child survivor of meningitis to be assessed at different points in their educational life, so they can be given support.
People are being urged to sign the Meningitis Trust education petition today at www.MeningitisChangesFutures.co.uk