19 January 2012
News
Parkinson's UK has joined with the MS Society and the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association to warn that a neurology time bomb will catch the NHS unawares, unless urgent action is taken.
This follows the recent National Audit Office report which showed that services for people with neurological conditions such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis (MS) and motor neurone disease (MND) were not up to scratch.
Better neurology services
New figures show that there will be a 28% rise in the number of people with Parkinson's by 2020 - due to ageing population estimates - with the numbers of people with MND set to increase by 27%. There are also 50 new people diagnosed with MS each week. So the problems are only set to get worse.
Parkinson's UK chief executive, Steve Ford, gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday 18 January 2012. As chair of the Neurological Alliance, Steve highlighted problems with current services and put forward solutions for the future of neurology. Steve spoke on behalf of Parkinson's UK, the MS Society, the MND Association and Neurological Commissioning Support.
Championing improvements
Steve Ford, Parkinson's UK chief executive, comments:
"A crisis is looming but the Government has its head in the sand. When it comes to helping vulnerable people with a neurological condition, the Government is floundering around in a fog of its own making. We need a leader to champion improvements – a neurology tsar, if you like, backed up with a plan and a strategy. When diabetes, cancer and stroke were assigned tsars, things really started to happen. People affected by neurological conditions are fed up with being at the bottom of the Government's 'to do' list. It is time the Department of Health sorted out this mess. It's not about spending more money. It's about getting good value and quality services."
Further information
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Parkinson's UK is the operating name of the Parkinson's Disease Society of the United Kingdom.
