Case Study - People Like Us
The People Like Us Campaign, which ran September 2007 to January 2008,
was a successful attempt to voice the concerns that are never heard for
all kidney patients in Wales. Patients who are struggling to get on with
life, whether on dialysis, waiting for a transplant, or worrying about
their care or the care of their loved ones. Kidney Wales believes such
voices should be heard and given a sound system to those who can help.
Positif Politics worked with Kidney Wales to make sure those voices were heard loud and clear. Our work encompassed a wide range of skills and disciplines to support the People Like Us Campaign as fully as possible. These included:
- Inputing into the People Like Us Report in terms of content and narrative, so that the document has as full an impact as possible;
- Working with Kidney Wales to assemble the best and strongest team of professionals to support the campaign;
- Coalition building with other interested parties including the BMA, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, and a range of charitable bodies with an interest in promoting organ donation;
- Working with National Assembly Members to make the case for a greater focus on renal services and to develop the arguments for a system of presumed consent;
- Supporting a range of public activities during the life of the campaign;
- Working to prioritise renal and transplantation issues on the agenda of the Health, Well-being and Local Government Committee; and
- Ensuring the People Like Us petition (the first received by the new Assembly Petitions Committee from an organisation rather than individuals) made its mark in Assembly processes and government thinking.
On 20th of September tens of people turned out at the National Assembly for Wales including patients, carers, health care professionals, and politicians to mark the launch of the Kidney Wales People Like Us Campaign. With media stories and much interest from BBC and ITV and other journalists, the launch was covered by personal stories from patients across Wales. The Minister, Edwina Hart AM, promised a full official reply to the document and expressed a wish for a public consultation on presumed consent. She delivered this on 21 November 2007 to the National Assembly when the government welcomed the People Like Us report and promised to act on a number of its suggestions.
Commenting on the value of the People Like Us campaign, Health Minister Edwina Hart AM said: " (People Like Us) has been an exceptionally responsible campaign that has tried to highlight what practical actions we can take to improve the quality of life of patients with renal problems... The Kidney Wales Foundation has done an excellent job in highlighting these issues to the public and to us as politicians. It is to be commended for that, because that is the role of the voluntary sector. The good thing is that the voluntary sector can see quite clearly that it has been successful in helping Government to look at their policies. That is a plus for the Government and for the working of the National Assembly, which is an important point to note."