Dedicated support for people living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is set to be increased through the addition of more specialist nurses and champions into the NHS and major investment in the development of an advice line.
The MS Trust is the only charity which provides additional specialist MS nurses into the NHS, and while it was forced to pause the initiative at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now set to resume its NHS Specialist Nurse Programme with plans to create five additional roles.
The nurses are recruited and trained by the charity, in conjunction with local NHS partners, and are directed into areas with the greatest pressure on MS resources. The seven existing roles are majority funded by the MS Trust for the first 15 months, with the NHS then funding the positions once the positive impact of their roles is proven.
The charity is also set to further develop its pioneering MS Champions project, which has seen six people working within the NHS to provide signposting and guidance to some of the 40,000 people nationally who have advanced MS.
Early findings from the pilot scheme suggest each Champion delivers a saving of £150,000 per year to the NHS through relieving pressure on GP and A&E visits, and the MS Trust is targeting the addition of a further three roles.
Significant investment has also been made in the Trust’s enquiry line, which saw a surge in enquiries during the pandemic amidst resources being cut back elsewhere. Supported by National Lottery funding, the charity has been able to significantly upgrade its telephone system to develop the capacity of its service.
“Last year was a bit like walking through treacle. Now we’re out of the treacle and are building and future proofing what we do,” says David Martin, CEO of The MS Trust.
The charity, which helps more than 10,000 people with MS every year, is a key partner of the NHS through its funding of specialist MS nurses and champions.
“Our nurse programme has become well established, we have provided seven so far and we are seeing the difference they can make. MS nurses may ordinarily work with around 300 people, whether that is through face-to-face, telephone support or drug monitoring, but in some areas that will be over 1,000,” says David.
“Through our intervention to help recruit, train, fund and mentor a new nurse, that can help ease pressure significantly. It is my personal hope that we will add five more nurses, which would make a huge difference to the lives of so many people living with MS.”
The Trust’s MS Champions project is the only scheme of its kind and is also set to be extended after early indications of its success.
“Through appropriate support, signposting and guidance, we are saving the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds, but are also crucially making a huge difference to people’s lives. This is why I work for The MS Trust, so we can create projects which make an impact like this,” says David.
And alongside supplying resources directly to the NHS, The MS Trust’s enquiry line is another significant asset, which has seen recent investment in its development. Demand for the service grew hugely during the pandemic, meaning the charity had to adapt quickly.
“We’re not a massive charity, we have a team of 30, but back in February we decided people were really going to need us via our enquiry line, so we put our resources into that,” recalls David.
“We have received more calls over the past year than ever before, April was our busiest month ever. Our phone system was very 20th Century, so it wasn’t a case of flicking a switch and resorting to home working, our team worked extremely hard to adapt.
“But through being able to secure National Lottery funding, we now have a whole new service. Our users won’t notice a difference, but for us internally, it’s geared up capacity and helped our team greatly. We are set up now for whatever the future holds.”
