20-strong coalition lobbies for chronic conditions

The coalition, composed mainly of health charities, launched the ‘17 million reasons’ campaign at the House of Commons this week. It aims to raise awareness of the 17 million people in the UK who have ‘long-term chronic conditions’ including asthma, diabetes, arthritis and cancer.

‘NHS waiting lists have dropped to 860,000, yet the number of people with long-term conditions has remained static,’ said Chris Atkinson, media officer at the NHS Confederation, one of the organisations involved. ‘They tend to involve day-to-day discomfort rather than screaming agony, so they receive less attention’.

The coalition will hold receptions at all three party conferences. Organisations involved include the Alzheimer’s Society, Rethink, and Diabetes UK.