Blog
Providing insight, working together: driving the neurology agenda forward in 2022
David Martin, The Neurological Alliance’s Chair of Trustees and CEO of MS Trust, writes: I recently met Sally. She is living in pain. Sally is struggling to walk and struggling to work. Her appointment to see a neurologist is months away. Sally is one of the 176,000 people with existing or suspected neurological conditions whose […]
England Rare Conditions Action Plan falls short on mental health
The Department of Health and Social Care have published the first Rare Diseases Action Plan for England, coinciding with Rare Disease Day on Monday 28 February 2022. The plan sets out the Government’s plans to improve the speed of diagnosis, access to genetic testing and how they assess access to medicines for rare conditions. The […]
Clinicians and patient groups call for mandatory review of neurology care
The National Neuroscience Advisory Group (NNAG) is calling on NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) to audit neurology services and implement a standardised set of outcome measures. Using standardised outcome measures would allow a more accurate understanding of access and experiences of care and how services are delivered across England. This would make it easier […]
What does the Elective Recovery Plan mean for people with neurological conditions?
This week, NHS England and NHS Improvement published their blueprint for tackling the backlog of elective care and reducing waiting times. This week also saw publication of NHS waiting times data for December 2021. Neurosurgery saw 51,195 people waiting for an appointment, 7% (3,584) of whom had been waiting for more than a year. In […]
Shared goals, shared knowledge: raising the profile of neurorehabilitation
The Independent Neurorehabilitation Providers’ Alliance (INPA) recently joined The Neurological Alliance. Chloë Hayward from INPA writes: INPA is a collation of independent organisations providing rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and neurological conditions. Some INPA members are large companies with multiple specialist units, others have one dedicated service. There are also […]
Unwavering focus: pushing for improvement in neurological services
Dr Arani Nitkunan, consultant neurologist and Neurological Alliance Trustee, writes: As a consultant neurologist working mainly in a district general hospital in Southwest London (Croydon University Hospital), there are several reasons why I very much appreciate all the work of The Neurological Alliance. Firstly, the Alliance’s surveys (including My Neuro Survey), have informed us that […]