Case studies : NHS

NHS Innovation & Improvement Institute: MS Services

Rethinking services for people with Multiple Sclerosis

Need support

There are 85,000 people with Multiple Sclerosis in the UK and it is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. MS is often diagnosed relatively early in life and people therefore live with MS for many years, often decades. Quality of life with MS depends on good ongoing medical, practical and emotional support. In Ealing, West London, people with MS were not receiving the level of support they – or government guidelines – required and the Primary Care Trust needed to rethink their existing services to better meet patient needs.

Tailored to individuals

Patients in Ealing had consistently found it hard to find and receive the care that they needed. Working with the NHS Innovation & Improvement Institute we partnered with a team at Ealing PCT and local MS patients to identify what was needed. Our service re-design ensures that each patient is given access to a specific MS service that is tailored to their individual needs during the different stages of their life. Patients are also given direct access to relevant information and a clinical team who they can communicate with online, over the phone or face-to-face.

Dedicated service

This re-design is currently being implemented by Ealing PCT and is a part of the NHS Innovation & Improvement Institute’s innovation programme. The PCT have funded the development of the new service and the new specialist MS team will be in place for the summer of 2008. The service is expected to both improve care, quality of life and outcomes for patients and reduce the number of patients resorting to hospital treatment.

“This really is a great piece of work.”
Bernadette Porter MS specialist nurse consultant UCLH

Jan 2007 – June 2007

Contact: Ben Reason on 020 7377 9620

www.institute.nhs.uk

Project partners:
NHS Innovation & Improvement Institute, Ealing PCT, MS Society, Ealing Borough Council.

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