World Brain Day: National strategy needed for online neurology care post-Covid

The Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) has launched a report today, ‘Looking Beyond Covid-19: Embracing Digital Solutions to Neurological Care’, which has found that while neurological services and support organisations adapted quickly as the pandemic struck last year, many patients could not access services.

Close to half of neurological patients could not access care and support services online during the Covid-19 pandemic and a national strategy is needed to deliver more virtual services into the future, an alliance of care providers has said.

The Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) has launched a report today, World Brain Day, which has found that while neurological services and support organisations adapted quickly as the pandemic struck last year, many patients could not access services.

The report, ‘Looking Beyond Covid-19: Embracing Digital Solutions to Neurological Care’, found that around 60% of neurological care providers were now delivering care online compared to 8% pre-Covid.

At the same time, it found that 47% of patients were not being reached online and that technological barriers were an issue for patients and staff, with services reporting a lack of appropriate IT equipment and poor broadband as key challenges.

The Alliance of 30 non-profit organisations advocates for around 800,000 people living with a neurological condition affecting the brain and spinal cord, such as stroke, dementia, migraine, epilepsy and acquired brain injury as well as rare and genetic conditions.

Check out our report launched today on digital solutions for neurological care https://t.co/GMchB2CHh5 with foreword by @martingcurley1 & featuring so many of our NAI members #WBD2021 pic.twitter.com/VarxTkwbs2

— Neurological Alliance of Ireland (@naiireland) July 22, 2021

NAI Executive Director Magdalen Rogers said the technological barriers identified need to be addressed as part of a national strategy to deliver online services for people living with a neurological condition.

“Neurological care providers adapted exceptionally well throughout the pandemic to deliver these services online. However, if online services are to remain, we need a national, coordinated approach to the provision of online healthcare, recognising the resources required in terms of equipment, expertise, and dedicated staffing to provide these services,” Ms Rogers said.

“Up to 50 per cent of patients were not availing of online services. We need to understand and address the barriers that prevent people accessing online care if they want to,” she added.

The report also found that three-quarters of people living with a neurological condition said they would like a combination of face-to-face and online services into the future.

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“We want to see a hybrid model of care, where patients can choose between face-to-face or online care depending on what suits their circumstances best,” Ms Rogers said.

In the report, Consultant Neurologist Professor Colin Doherty said he hoped that virtual epilepsy clinics at St James Hospital in Dublin could grow from 20% before the pandemic to 50-60% into the future.

“What do patients actually want? They are quite happy to sit at home at the kitchen table and do a phone/video call for disease surveillance and when they need to be seen, they want to be able to see a specialist.

They don’t want to have to turn up at an emergency department and wait on a trolley for 24 hours. 

"We need a more responsive model of care, which is what I have been trying to develop for many years,” he said.

Patient advocate Gary Boyle said telemedicine gave patients a valuable alternative to travelling long distances to see a consultant or other healthcare practitioner for a short 15-minute review.

“This technology is a clear breakthrough in health care provision, delivering us the potential to ‘take the pressure off’ our current health system - not by replacing it, but by enhancing it and making the system work smarter,” he said.