A Forres woman who suffers from an incurable auto-nervous disease met with MPs at Westminster to raise awareness about her condition.
Jane Bateson, 71, campaigns on behalf of two charities which both offer support to people – such as herself – who are prone to black-outs and fainting spells.
Campaigners from the Arrhythmia Trust and Stars charity met with Moray Conservative MP Douglas Ross to discuss problems which affect people with auto-nervous diseases.
Mrs Bateson suffers from dysautonomia, a condition that causes dizzy spells, severe exhaustion and black-outs, and spoke about how much she has struggled to find support when she was first diagnosed.
She said: “I would like more recognition and support for this awful condition and I am grateful to Douglas for what he has done to raise awareness. It isn’t until you are diagnosed that you can seek treatment.
“I initially struggled with that as it was hard to get doctors to realise the dysautonomia was the problem, but I am lucky now to have the support of a good doctor.”
Mr Ross added: “I was delighted to be able to meet with representatives from the two charities and hear about the work they do supporting patients like Jane.
“It is worrying to hear that there are other Scottish patients who find themselves in a similar predicament without access to support or treatment.
“Much more needs to be done, so they can access a specialist, without having to fund a private trip to a doctor in London which is what Jane had to do.”