Scoliosis screening petition - please sign

apologies if this is bad form. At least I only want your signature, not your money ;-)

My girlfriend was born with Scoliosis, which is a spinal curvature. These days she helps run a website - http://www.scoliosis-support.org/ - which provides support to other sufferers. She has asked me to pass on this request to everyone I know, so that they can get 1000 signatures on the petition. It would totally make their christmas:

Scoliosis and Kyphosis are curvatures of the spine that usually develop during the teenage years. If not caught early enough, these curvatures become deformities that require bracing and often a long and painful surgery to fuse the spine. In America and other countries, kids are regularly screened at school in order to catch cases before they become serious. This system works well; the screening simply consists of getting the child to bend forward so that a nurse can check their back for abnormalities. It costs nothing but the nurse's time, yet scoliosis surgery costs many thousands of pounds.

PLEASE sign this petition, help save kids from the trauma of surgery and also help save thousands of pounds for the taxpayer!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/scoliscreening/

You need to click to respond to the email you receive in order for your signature to be added to the list.

I would love to contribute but I am not a British citizen so dont make the criteria , great petition though.

I'm in.

It runs in our family and one of my brothers got it badly. At 17, they had to open him up (from the front), take out a couple of ribs and move his lungs and other gooey organs. They then straghtened his spine with a massive metal support screwed in all the way up. Gooey stuff back in and closed up.

To fit his full body brace (that he had to wear for the next 4-6 months) they had to hang him up at full height to get fully straight. Despite the morphine, he was still apparently screaming in agony. My mum still goes white if she talks about it 15 years later.

He didn't sunbath for years after as his side looks like he was in a shark attack.

Still - he gained 2 inches in height and is now the tallest of us.

So...good cause.

I'm in.

It runs in our family and one of my brothers got it badly. At 17, they had to open him up (from the front), take out a couple of ribs and move his lungs and other gooey organs. They then straghtened his spine with a massive metal support screwed in all the way up. Gooey stuff back in and closed up.

To fit his full body brace (that he had to wear for the next 4-6 months) they had to hang him up at full height to get fully straight. Despite the morphine, he was still apparently screaming in agony. My mum still goes white if she talks about it 15 years later.

He didn't sunbath for years after as his side looks like he was in a shark attack.

Still - he gained 2 inches in height and is now the tallest of us.

So...good cause.

what a great end result despite the horrific pain he must have endured

Signed.

Yes - it was pretty grim. He couldn't do much sport or anything for years. Fine now though.

I'll send him the links, bluequinn.

Signed.

done
belezza you need to be a uk citizen or resident which you may be...

my dad has scoliosis, and didn't really get the treatment when he was young, so is in constant pain.
signed.

I've read the details, and signed.

All over it, and passed on too.

I have spine problems , but ive never heard of scoliosis.
Despite seeing several doctors about it, no one thought to tell me about the condition.. pah!

Definetley a great reason to sign. Which I did.

You guys are awesome. thanks.
I've no idea if the petition will do any good. Probably not, but it will make the SSO members very happy if they hit the magic 1000, so it's worth it just for that.

HBMF!
signed

Signed

signed

signed

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is chaired by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Scotland (on behalf of all CMOs) and advises Ministers and the NHS in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria. Whilst screening has the potential to save lives or improve the quality of life through the early diagnosis of serious conditions, it can never be a 100 per cent accurate process. The UK NSC is increasingly presenting screening in a risk reduction context to emphasise this point.
The UK NSC does not currently recommend screening for scoliosis in childhood. UK NSC advice is regularly reviewed in the light of new research evidence becoming available.

The responses they give to these petitions are absolutely pathetic. Is their excuse here that screening isn't 100% accurate?

Typical response and a typical outcome.

I didn't expect anything more to be honest.

It was worth a try. At least raises the profile a bit.

We are a bit worried about our eldest boy, so may have to get him checked out shortly. He's beginning to look a bit bendy.

don't wait extra time for no reason, it could easily be nothing but best to be sure.

HBMF FTW!