Specialist nurses for people with MS in the UK

Dear Friend,

Our journey to help improve access to MS specialist nurses in areas with the poorest provision of services continues….

In our last report, we told you how, with the help of our supporters, including those who donated via GlobalGiving, we had seen the appointment of four new nurses in areas with the poorest provision of services.  The areas which are already benefitting from your kindness are Bradford, Lanarkshire and Leicester and in this report we are providing you with an update on their progress.

 Leicester – we are funding one post, but as we will train and develop both nurses, the NHS Trust in Leicester agreed to fund an additional post! We are delighted to report that both nurses attended our October Development Module, which is a 5 day residential course that provides the corner stone of MS specialist nurse training.  We talked to the nurses from Leicester during their course, to find out how their first few months in post had been.  We were told how challenging it had been initially.  They said how much they had appreciated their induction period, and the training and mentoring we have, and continue to, provide.  They are now working on their own, doing clinics and home visits and are feeling confident in their ability to make a real difference to the lives of people with MS.  Their overall feedback about the Development Module was that it was “an excellent week, with fantastic lectures and real sense of an MS community.” Building on that learning, they both attended our Annual Conference.  As there is now more staffing, the Leicester team have been able to set up outreach and community clinics.  This means that people with mobility issues can receive the support they need in their own homes.  That is fantastic news for people with MS. 

Bradford – Bradford’s new MS specialist nurse will take up her post shortly and is booked to attend our March Development Module.

Lanarkshire – Our work with the Health Board was so successful, that two new MS specialist nurses and a part time neurology nurse, have been appointed.  The Team have also been given full time administrative support!  Having administrative support means that all of the nurses can focus their time on providing front line patient care, rather than administration and form filling.  As is the case with Leicester, we are only funding one nurse, but will be training and mentoring all three nurses, all of whom are booked to attend our March Development Module.

Why is training such an important component of this project?  All of the individuals recruited to the Specialist Nurse Programme are highly trained, skilled and experienced nurses.  But they do not have in-depth knowledge about MS. MS specialist nurses don’t become specialists overnight. They need to acquire a great deal of knowledge about the condition, the myriad of symptoms and the increasing number of available treatments.  And, once they have that knowledge, they need to build on it and keep it updated.  That is why we run our post-graduate residential foundation training course, accredited by Birmingham City University, for all new in post nurses, and a multi-disciplinary annual conference.  Our aim is to create and sustain a community of excellence in practice around MS care, and so our educational programmes are delivered by leaders in the field. 

The wonderful news is that we are in discussion with six NHS Trusts about establishing new MS Specialist nurse posts; we have one signed agreement and are already recruiting in that area.  That means that soon there will be more specialist nurses helping people with MS in the areas that need them most.  As we have more news, we will share it with you.  Once again thank you for your interest in and support of our work.

With very best wishes from all of us here at the MS Trust.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Sopala

Director of Development.

Links:

• We talk to the new MS specialist nurses from Leicester