Time running out to tackle neurological crisis, says charity

WITH every area of neurological care in Ireland understaffed, the Neurological Alliance of Ireland is warning that time is running out to tackle the crisis.

By 2021, more than 860,000 people in Ireland will have a neurological condition. And, with services already unable to cope, the situation is set to worsen dramatically.

Services for people with neurological conditions such as stroke, migraine, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and acquired brain injury, lag far behind those in the rest of Europe.

The NAI, the umbrella body for more than 30 neurological charities, yesterday launched its action plan to coincide with National Brain Awareness Week.

It calls on the incoming Government to prioritise neurological care and blames decades of under-investment in the area for the limited access to services that are routinely available in other European countries.

It points out that Ireland has 700,000 people with a neurological condition but only half the recommended number of neurologists working in the public health system. It calls for the number of consultants to be increased to 42 to meet the needs of the population.

Almost 40% of people with a neurological condition are waiting six months or more for a diagnosis, with only one in four able to access the national rehabilitation centre. And there are just six rehabilitation consultants when the recommended number is 26.

Consultant neurologist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Prof Orla Hardiman, said neurological care would be the acid test for the success of the new Government in dealing with the health services. “The current standard of care is unacceptable with delays in getting a diagnosis and lack of access to the level of specialised rehabilitation that other countries in Europe take for granted.”

The plan also calls on the Government to protect funding to charities that are central to neurological care services. Without the charities, there would be little specialist support available in this country for people with neurological conditions and their families, it says.

A recent NAI survey found that almost 50% of people with neurological conditions said charities were essential to their care and support.

* www.thinkingahead.ie.