MS Trust funding new nurses to help more people understand and take on MS

MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Awareness Week 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of MS specialist nursing in the UK and the appointment of the first new MS Trust funded nurses. However, the latest research commissioned by the MS Trust shows that MS is still a widely misunderstood condition.

A third of Brits know someone who has MS, yet 1 in 5 don't know what MS stands for and almost 70% admit to being unaware of the major symptoms.

Despite the UK’s lack of awareness, MS is the most common condition of the central nervous system affecting young adults. Over 100,000 people in the UK have MS, which is about one in every 600. It is nearly three times more common in women than in men and most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, but it can be diagnosed in younger and older people.

The good news is that with the help of MS specialist nurses, trained and supported by the MS Trust, more and more people are able to get the care and treatments that can help them, and learn to manage this lifelong condition.

There has been huge progress in MS care in the last 25 years. But there is still much to do. MS Trust research has found that two-thirds of people with MS still live in an area without enough specialist nurses. So for the first time the MS Trust has stepped in to fund new nurses.

“We know that MS nurses are vital for people living with MS,” said Pam Macfarlane, Chief Executive of the MS Trust. “They can help people deal with diagnosis, understand their condition, find treatments that work for them and learn to manage a lifelong disease. These nurses have transformed MS care in the last 25 years. But too many people are still having to take on MS alone.”

“This is why the MS Trust is stepping in and funding new MS nurses in areas of greatest need. This MS Awareness Week we are announcing our first new nurses coming to Leicester and Bradford. In the next 12 months we hope to fund nurses in a further 6 locations. All together these nurses will help thousands of people affected by MS.”

“MS is often not a priority for an NHS coming under increasing stress,” says Ms Macfarlane. “The MS Trust receives no funding from government or from the NHS to train and support these vital nurses. This MS Awareness Week they are working to raise awareness of the difference they can make and call on everyone to support us in making sure that no one has to take on MS alone.