AS THE CEO of national charity The British Polio Fellowship, I am delighted to announce that one of the biggest days in the charity’s year, PPS Day is to be hosted by the prestigious National Assembly For Wales.

This year’s event will be held on Thursday, October 22, and is set to be opened by Mark Isherwood AM, main sponsor of the event and chaiman of the Assembly cross party group on neurological conditions, alongside several other guest speakers.

Mr Isherwood has acknowledged the significance of the event, and is mindful that some of the most disadvantaged live in Wales, a situation worsened by their rural isolation.

He believes they require service user and community led services to help their quality of life, whilst raising awareness to the wider community. I totally agree.

PPS Day aims to draw public attention and create awareness to the estimated 120,000 people living with the late effects of Polio and PPS in the UK.

This figure is believed to be similar to the number of people suffering from Parkinson’s or Motor Neurone disease, but sadly only receives a fraction of public and medical attention.

Following The British Polio Fellowship holding its 75th anniversary celebrations at Westminster last year, the opportunity for this year’s event to be held in Cardiff is both part of an effort to tour Britain’s main political hubs in consecutive years, as well as reaching out to those in need of our support.

Our charity relies entirely on the support of the public and corporate sponsors. If you are interested in getting involved, at whatever level, call us on 0800 043 1935.

TED HILL MBE CEO, The British Polio Fellowship