It’s time to #BackThe1in6

1 in 6 people in the UK live with a neurological condition, but there simply aren’t the workforce or services in place to support them. This must change. Over 19,000 people from across the UK have signed our petition calling on all UK governments to work together to establish a UK-wide Neuro Taskforce and deliver real change.

This call to action is backed by the findings from the 2021/2022 UK-wide survey of adults and children affected by neurological conditions, My Neuro Survey. Over 8,500 people took part and shared their experiences.

The UK wide survey was run in partnership with the Neurological Alliances of Scotland and Wales and the Northern Ireland Neurological Charities Alliance. There was also a version specifically for children and young people with a neurological condition.

Real change needed for the neurological community

Over 8,500 people shared their experiences and reported:

• Delays to treatment and care can change your life forever. 55% of adults and 60% of children and young people living with a neurological condition experienced delays to routine appointments with specialists in the last year​.
• Most people with a neurological condition are unable to access the mental wellbeing support they need. 40% reported their mental wellbeing needs are not being met at all. 
• Finding out you have a neurological condition is scary and confusing. Receiving the right information and support can make a real difference. 2 in 10 were not given an explanation of their diagnosis. Almost 4 in 10 adults reported not being given any information at all. 

1 in 6 people in the UK live with a neurological condition but there simply isn’t the workforce or services in place to support them. We are calling on UK governments to back the 1 in 6 and establish a Neuro Taskforce to address these problems and create real change. Over 19,000 people from across the UK signed our petition calling on all UK governments to work together to create a Neuro Taskforce.

In June 2023 a delegation of people affected by neurological conditions, representatives from Neurological Alliance member organisations and Neurological Alliance staff took the petition to Westminster. Read more about the campaign so far here.

Why a Neuro Taskforce?

Find out more about why we’re calling on UK governments to create a Neuro Taskforce here.

Why 1 in 6?

According to our 2019 publication, Neuro Numbers one in six people live with a neurological condition. Neuro Numbers used the best available prevalence and incidence estimates to reveal there are an estimated 16.5 million neurological cases, equating to at least 1 in 6 people living with one or more neurological condition.

Learn more and read the reports in full

Learn more about the results from My Neuro Survey and download the complete report and datasets here.