A leading coalition which has exposed significant shortfalls in care and support for people with neurological conditions is campaigning for the Government to take immediate action.
The Neurological Alliance has handed over a 19,000-strong petition to the Department of Health and Social Care (pictured above). It calls on the Government to back the one in six people affected by neurological conditions in the UK by creating a UK-wide Neuro Taskforce to spearhead vital improvements in care and support.
This follows the emergence of worrying results from The Neurological Alliance’s 2022 ‘My Neuro Survey’ completed by more than 8,500 people affected by neurological conditions.
It exposed significant shortfalls in mental wellbeing support, delays to accessing vital treatment and care and a lack of information and support at diagnosis.
“Despite affecting millions of people and costing billions of pounds, neurological conditions are too often at the back of the queue,” said Georgina Carr, Chief Executive of the Neurological Alliance.
“More than half of people who shared their experiences had experienced delays to routine specialist appointments in the last year and a majority hadn’t been asked about their mental wellbeing by a healthcare professional in the past three years.
“We believe these people are the neglected millions. The message from people affected by neurological conditions is clear – this must change.
“We stand united with over 100 organisations and 19,000 people to take immediate action. We urge governments across the UK to establish a Neuro Taskforce to address these unacceptable gaps in care and support for people with neurological conditions and deliver real change.”
There are over 600 neurological conditions, including dementia, ataxia, migraine, epilepsy, Tourette syndrome, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease and cerebral palsy.
If you need support, Neurological Alliance members may be able to help. Visit www.neural.org.uk to find out more.
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