Asbestos sufferers benefit from new support centre in Clydebank

Asbestos victims across the west of Scotland are to benefit from a new support centre.

The Clydebank Asbestos Group (CAG) unveiled the new office in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire on Thursday.

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It also marks the charity’s 25th anniversary of helping those affected by asbestos-related diseases.

For decades, hundreds of tradesmen or their families developed health issues after working with the hazardous material – with some cases proving fatal.

However it is hoped the new CAG headquarters will boost the support for those affected across the Clyde region.

CAG Chairman Bob Dickie said: “Since 1992 we have supported communities across Glasgow and the south west of Scotland and today is a proud landmark in CAG’s legacy.

“This new facility will allow us to reach even more people in need – it will have access to computers and allow those in need to come in and research key aspects of their own unique circumstances.

“But more importantly it provides them with an epicentre for support where they can receive not just professional support through CAG, but also emotional kinship with fellow sufferers.

“To everyone who has helped in the creation of this new headquarters, and to everyone who has supported us over the years, I offer my sincerest thanks – because you help us help others.”

Clydebank Asbestos Group is a volunteer-led charity that has operated since 1992.

It offers free, confidential advice and specialist support to victims of asbestos-related illnesses such as pleural plaques to a devastating terminal condition called mesothelioma.

Pleural plaques is when the lining of the lungs or ribcage calcifies and mesothelioma is where asbestos exposure results in a tumour that can prove fatal in a matter of weeks.

CAG’s new support centre is at Kilbowie Road in Clydebank close to the International Asbestos Memorial which honours those who died of asbestos-related diseases.

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Fraser Simpson, Partner and head of industrial disease at Digby Brown Solicitors who help asbestos victims with legal advice for compensation, said: “The support provided by CAG is truly commendable, however it is also a tragic indication to the impact of asbestos and those it affects.

“Every year Digby Brown assists more and more clients which proves asbestos is not an issue for the history books.

“The potentially fatal conditions this harmful substance causes affects hundreds, if not thousands, of people right here, right now and as people continue to be affected by it, so we will continue our efforts to help them in their pursuit for justice.”

For more on Clydebank Asbestos Group see http://www.clydebankasbestos.org or call 0141 951 1008.