Help for Letter writing

An MP may well ignore an ‘identikit’ letter, so it is preferable to do your own letter and only have a very quick glance at the Sample letters. The Sample letters are not intended to be copied. Please adapt them to your own story.

Towards the end of your letter, we need you to make the following requests:

Ask your MP to write to the Secretary of State for Health to find out for you what is being done to address patient’s concerns about diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.
Please do not forget to finish your letter by requesting that your MP sign EDM 958.

Your own letter clearly represents real events that have happened to you. If, as a result of this disease you have:

Been misdiagnosed.
Had to give up work.
Been obliged to waste time when you could have been treated and recovering.
Had to make demands on the NHS that you would not otherwise have done.
Had to claim benefits that you would not otherwise have had to claim.
Found after an extended period of ill health that antibiotic treatment helped/greatly helped/cured you after all.

Then you need to tell your MP about the things listed above and ask them to help you get the help that you need.

A short, clear letter of 300 words or so is fine. If you cannot tell your story quite so briefly, then maybe around 700 words or so is reasonable, but try to keep everything on one piece of A4. MPs are busy people and letters that are pages and pages long are not a good idea.

If you have to copy a sample letter because of your disabilities in any way, do mention that the illness has disabled you (either physically or mentally) and you cannot manage your own letter.

Alternatively, for those who find letter writing impossible, you could write to your MP through the ‘Write to Them’ website shown below. If you decide to do this, do mention that you must do this because the illness has disabled you.

It may help you to focus your letter by saying that you support Lyme Disease Action’s ‘Ten Steps to better control of Lyme disease’ a leaflet which is available as a PDF on our website or from our PO Box.

A letter on paper ought to be responded to by an MP within a few weeks. The request to find out information from a Minister may take more time but the information you ask for will be forthcoming. Many MPs now also respond to emails, but it is possible that not all do this.

Every MP can be reached by addressing your letter to them as the MP for (your constituency) and sending it to: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or to their constituency office .

Remember to check that you have put your own postal address and sign and date the letter.

If sending an email, you still need to make your name and address clear so that the MP knows you are a constituent.

The website mentioned is:
http://www.writetothem.com

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