"Cystic Fibrosis Psychology Service"

Having a progressive illness from birth and living with the decline in health and the arduous routine of medications and other treatments required is extremely challenging. In the last year I have struggled massively with my mental health and well being related to my illness. The only thing that has seemed to take some of the enormous weight from me has been my weekly appointments with our fantastic dedicated clinical paychologist. I have had meetings with her every week for most of the year and now there is no longer a safe and private space for us to carry out our sessions.

This is already, just weeks in, having a negative impact on my mental health and struggle with depression. Having Cystic Fibrosis is such a crushing situation for me, as my health is already declining at a very young age. Without the help of our team psychologist, I think things would have been very different for me in the last year. I implore the managers who deal with the allocation of clinical space at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to recognise this service for what it is, not an optional adjuvant to medical intervention, but an absolutely essential service to support patients with a crippling and progressive illness that robs people of their lives, even while they are still alive. Psychological wellbeing and physical health are inextricably linked, and to ignore the needs of one of these elements is to have a very real and detrimental effect on the lives of patients who have benefited from this service.