Our 2025 AGM was held on Wednesday 5th March, at LifeCare Centre, Stockbridge.
We had a great turnout, over 40 people attending. Sadly our guest Jackie Baillie (MSP) was unable to make it, due to picking up a bug that did the rounds at the Labour Party Conference! We wish Jackie a speedy recovery.
Branch Chair Stephen gave an overview of 2024, and there were many positives to celebrate. The range of activities and events that Edinburgh Branch offer makes us among the most active Branches in the UK. Stephen thanked a great many people who help to ensure the continued success of the Branch. He also asked for more volunteers, to share the burden.
David Melton, Chair of ERIG gave an overview of the huge success of the 2024 Edinburgh Parkinson’s Lecture. Some facts and figures: around 200 people attended the lecture in person. Over 1000 people watched the live stream. And there have been 2,700 views of the lecture on your YouTube channel. Richelle Flanagan who gave the lecture has stimulated a lot of interest in how diet can be very significant for PwPs. David confirmed the date for the 2025 lecture and outlined the topic revolves around Stem Cell Therapy. We will be giving more details, as and when we get them.
James Jopling, Scotland Director for Parkinson’s UK then gave us an overview of many of the areas of focus that P-UK are currently pursuing. This relates to the wider investment in research, support for Branches, ensuring rural areas are supported, and in particular the Highland region, where the Parkinson’s Nurse of over 30 years is retiring. To ensure there is a replacement, P-UK are funding the post, which is critical as the nurse has over 900 PwPs in a huge geographical range.
Preceding’s ended with James taking a group selfie. A fun way to end and informative and entertaining AGM.
(A copy of the slides is at the very bottom of the Branch Get-Together page – in the AGM link)