Firestormm
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1st August 2012: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/01/nhs-neglect-neurological
Poor primary care means too many people with brain illnesses are being admitted to emergency wards, says group
...An alliance report accuses the NHS of not taking patients with neurological conditions seriously enough, and warns that the coalition's health reforms will do nothing to help them.
"Policy levers for improving care in the new NHS landscape are not being mobilised to support improvements to neurological services.
"Five of the six key policy levers, including national outcome strategies and the commissioning outcome framework, are not currently being used to improve services for people with neurological conditions," it claims.
This is despite neurological services taking up more than 5% of overall NHS spending, which makes them the service's eighth largest category of spending, and the fact that one in six people are affected, it adds.
The report urged the plethora of new NHS bodies being created next April by the Health and Social Care Act to tackle "the legacy of neglect which has resulted in unacceptable variations in outcomes and higher than necessary costs".
Inadequate and poorly co-ordinated care of such patients by GPs and other community health and social care services result in undue numbers of emergency hospital admissions, it says...
...The Department of Health said that the commissioning board is already planning to drive improvements to services for those with mental health problems, dementia and neurological conditions by ensuring that some of the first strategic clinical networks set up next year cover them.
"We want NHS services to focus on what matters to people most. This will make sure that people with neurological conditions get integrated care and the support they need at the right time and in the right place," said a spokeswoman.
"We are working closely with patient groups and health professionals to develop a new Long-Term Conditions Strategy. The NHS commissioning board is already planning to drive improvements to improve mental health services, dementia and neurological conditions," she added...'
N.B. The Neurological Alliance recognises ME as a neurological condition and several UK ME Charities are members along with the main Fibromyalgia charity...
Poor primary care means too many people with brain illnesses are being admitted to emergency wards, says group
...An alliance report accuses the NHS of not taking patients with neurological conditions seriously enough, and warns that the coalition's health reforms will do nothing to help them.
"Policy levers for improving care in the new NHS landscape are not being mobilised to support improvements to neurological services.
"Five of the six key policy levers, including national outcome strategies and the commissioning outcome framework, are not currently being used to improve services for people with neurological conditions," it claims.
This is despite neurological services taking up more than 5% of overall NHS spending, which makes them the service's eighth largest category of spending, and the fact that one in six people are affected, it adds.
The report urged the plethora of new NHS bodies being created next April by the Health and Social Care Act to tackle "the legacy of neglect which has resulted in unacceptable variations in outcomes and higher than necessary costs".
Inadequate and poorly co-ordinated care of such patients by GPs and other community health and social care services result in undue numbers of emergency hospital admissions, it says...
...The Department of Health said that the commissioning board is already planning to drive improvements to services for those with mental health problems, dementia and neurological conditions by ensuring that some of the first strategic clinical networks set up next year cover them.
"We want NHS services to focus on what matters to people most. This will make sure that people with neurological conditions get integrated care and the support they need at the right time and in the right place," said a spokeswoman.
"We are working closely with patient groups and health professionals to develop a new Long-Term Conditions Strategy. The NHS commissioning board is already planning to drive improvements to improve mental health services, dementia and neurological conditions," she added...'
N.B. The Neurological Alliance recognises ME as a neurological condition and several UK ME Charities are members along with the main Fibromyalgia charity...
