We comment as new report reveals dire state of neurological care in
Scotland
15 May 2012
People with neurological conditions in Scotland face a similar
postcode lottery to the situation in England, following a new
report into the state of neurological health services
across Scotland released today.
What the report reveals
We've been impressed with the progress that has been made over the last few years, but this report shows that huge improvements are still needed.
Katherine Crawford, our Scotland manager
The report -
Neurological Health Services NHSScotland local reports -
published by NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland, paints a worrying
picture.
It shows that people with brain conditions - including
Parkinson's - are facing a huge
disparity in the services they are able to access, depending on
their diagnosis, their age and where they live in the country.
The report shows that none of Scotland's 14 health boards could
meet all of the health service's standards for neurological
care.
Access to services a postcode lottery
In many parts of Scotland, people are not able to access the
services they need to manage their condition.
The standards cover a range of aspects of care from ensuring
that NHS Boards provide people with adequate access to specialists
and clear treatment plans.
Across Scotland, NHS Boards are currently meeting only 100 of
the 224 standards against which they were assessed - less than
half.
NHS Boards are currently meeting only 13 of the 28 standards for
people with Parkinson's.
Some boards were unable to show that people with Parkinson's
could access the full range of healthcare professionals they need.
And others failed to show that timing and dosage of medication were being followed correctly.
Situation could get worse
We fear that the situation could get worse, as the Scottish
Government and NHS have refused to commit additional funding to
help NHS Boards to develop their services to meet the needs of
people living with neurological conditions.
Katherine Crawford, our Scotland manager, comments:
"People living with Parkinson's and other neurological conditions
regularly find themselves at the bottom of the Government's 'to do
list'.
"And this new report shows that too often Health Boards are
simply unable to provide people living with these conditions access
to the support and information they need.
"We have been impressed with the progress that has been made
over the last few years, but this report shows that huge
improvements are still needed."
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