Specialist nurses for people with MS in the UK

It has been a big year for the MS Trust. We already support and train all the MS nurses in the country, but now we are going one step further by funding MS nurse posts in the areas that need them the most. Our aim is simple - that everyone in the UK with MS has access to an MS specialist nurse.

MS nurses, like cancer nurses, are at the very heart of the care needed by someone living with MS, and there simply aren’t enough. In fact, our research has shown that 2 in 3 people with MS – around 68,000 – live in an area where there are not enough MS Nurses, and too often people are being left to manage their MS alone and without the specialist care they need. Those with progressive MS in areas where there is a shortage are particularly vulnerable.

We estimate that at least 58 more MS Nurses are needed and it will cost the MS Trust £46,000 to fund, train and support just one new MS nurse for a year. This is a huge undertaking for a charity of our size, but one that we need to do.

I recently met an MS Nurse called Mhairi from Lanarkshire - the only MS Nurse in Lanarkshire in fact. She looks after about 1,500 people with MS, even though it is thought that the most any one nurse can manage is 358. She works very long hours to try and get to everyone because if somebody needs her, she can’t just leave them waiting. When she heard about the MS Trust funding new MS nurses she had this to say: 

“Another MS nurse would make a massive difference. We could spend more time looking at people’s pain relief, mobility and independence. MS affects people in different ways and no two people’s care is the same, which is why specialist nurses are so critical.”                 

Mhairi is totally committed to the welfare of her patients, and it makes her so angry to know that some won’t get the care they need and deserve because despite her every effort, one MS Nurse just isn’t enough.

I know that some will wonder why the MS Trust as a charity is having to undertake this funding, and believe me we are not letting the NHS off the hook! The reality is that they are doing what they can with the resources they have. Nevertheless, we will continue to campaign for improved MS care, and a condition for every post funded is that the local NHS Trust take on this cost after 15 months.

We hope that you agree that until there’s a cure, supporting an MS nurse is one of the best possible ways we can help people with MS. And I just know that with the continued support of our wonderful supporters on Global Giving  we can do so much to make a real difference.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Sopala

Director of Fundraising