UK to transform rehabilitation for millions with neurological conditions through new guidelines
New draft guidelines have been published to address the issue of millions of people in England living with long-term neurological conditions who have inconsistent access to vital rehabilitation services.
According to a survey conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 57 per cent of adults and 53 per cent of children and young people in England say they would like to have accessed outpatient rehabilitation but weren’t able to access it.
The guidelines aim to address this variation in access to care through the recommendation of a standardised approach to rehabilitation across five major neurological conditions, including brain and spinal cord injuries, according to NICE.
With an estimated 16.5 million in the UK living with neurological conditions, the guidelines also aim to address the care needs of those who have been discharged from healthcare services.
To do this, an holistic approach to rehab is recommended based on individual care needs, such as physical, occupational, speech, and cognitive therapies, as well as psychological support and vocational counselling, along with a single point of contact for patients and ensuring that there are specialist case managers of the 42 Integrated Care Boards in England.
The draft also recommends stronger collaboration between commissioners and service providers, and improved communication between health, social care, education, and employment organisations.
Professor Jonathan Benger, chief medical officer and interim director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE, said: “Without consistent rehabilitation support, people can experience unnecessary decline in their condition and quality of life. This useful and useable guideline will help ensure everyone receives the ongoing care they need to maintain independence and wellbeing.”
Dr Ian Bernstein, chair of the independent NICE guideline committee, said: “This draft guideline highlights how rehabilitation should be co-ordinated across health and social care, schools, employers and voluntary sector. For people with long-term neurological conditions, this means smoother transitions between services and less chance of falling through gaps in care – ultimately leading to better outcomes and improved quality of life.
“The key to achieving integrated care are the recommendations to assign a single point of contact for people with long-term neurological conditions through their journeys.”
Chief executive of The Neurological Alliance, Georgina Carr, said: “Many patients currently face challenges when seeking the correct referral pathways, and the guidelines aim to tackle this issue by improving assessment and referral pathways, including re-referral for those with changing needs.
“The guidelines also recommend that those with chronic neurological disorders know how they can access rehabilitation services in their area.
“This new draft guideline recognises the variation people experience and provides an important opportunity to support access to consistent, quality services for everybody living with a neurological condition. We encourage the neuro community to engage with the draft, so the final guideline reflects the realities of living with a neurological condition.”
The draft guidance consultation opened on Tuesday, 8 April, and closes on Tuesday, 20 May, with the final guideline expected to publish later this year.
