Two men bearing placards were outside Parliament yesterday waging a long battle to pressure the national lottery into using charity funding to address the plight of kidney patients.
Terrence Grant and his brother Mark Shelton said while they had no personal axe to grind in terms of this treatment, their attention had been captured by the suffering of others.
“Kidney dialysis costs a fortune, and those who can’t afford it are turned away from hospitals, and are sent home to die,” Grant said.
He explained that his campaign was not new; he’d been protesting for the past few years.
“I am protesting specifically against the national lottery because of the way they misuse funds.
“The lotto was established to benefit the public, but why are dialysis patients still being turned away?” he asked.
“I’m not only protesting about kidney dialysis, I’m protesting against apathy and corruption.”
The brothers accuse the government of spending money on extravagances and “bling”, while neglecting the health sector.
Grant added that the low number of kidney transplants being done was almost certainly contributing to the high number of dialysis patients.
The men appealed to the government and the lottery to release funds for dialysis.