Academic’s plight sparks UK campaign
9:29am Friday 10th February 2012 in Your Town
A FORMER University of Bolton lecturer has sparked a national campaign.
Dr John Binkley, who worked at Bolton Institute, now the University of Bolton, had to take early retirement because of his severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
His experiences were raised in the House of Commons by MP Chris Evans for Islwyn, South Wales, who is lobbying for more awareness of the employment difficulties faced by those with IBD.
During his speech, he referred to Mr Binkley, aged 58, from Bromley Cross.
He said: “Until last year, John was a university lecturer. He found working and living with a chronic condition such as inflammatory bowel disease was too much to cope with.
“He chose to take early retirement without much of a fight. It took 18 months to get his pension released early on partial incapacity grounds, which took a toll, as his condition was going through a flare-up.
“Even though he has come to terms with his current medication, in order to help keep his symptoms under control, the IBD is difficult to live with and dictates how much travel he can do on a daily basis. “It has been financially tough on John and his family, as he was the sole source of income, which has now been halved. The majority of his lump-sum payment made on retirement had to be used to fit a downstairs toilet.”
Mr Evans said people with the condition often suffer in silence and are too afraid to speak openly about it despite it affecting 250,000 people in the UK.
He added: “Employers, health professionals and MPs all have a role to play in ensuring that there is a greater understanding for those with fluctuating conditions such as IBD.
