19 April 2016
A report has been published that brings new insight into how people with various
neurological conditions can be better supported to stay well.
The Neurology Intelligence Report is the result of close working between a number of organisations*
including the National Institute for Health Research, which is the research arm
of the NHS.
Over 2 million hospital attendances and admissions from 2009-2014 for conditions ranging from
Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, neuromuscular conditions (like motor
neurone disease [MND]) and headaches were analysed to understand more about
them.
The data was taken from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data routinely collected by hospitals on the number of
people using NHS inpatient and outpatient facilities.
The report authors found that in many cases, minor illnesses, which could potentially have been assessed and
treated and managed proactively, were responsible for admissions in people with
neurological conditions. In addition overall they identified a significant rise
in the number of people with neurological conditions who were admitted to
hospital, or seen as outpatients.
Dr Christopher Kipps is Clinical Director for the Strategic Clinical Network at NHS England (Wessex) for Mental
Health, Dementia and Neurological Conditions, and is also NIHR CLAHRC Wessex
lead for Dementia: “Until now it has been hard to pull together a complete
picture of the health and care of people with neurological conditions in our
region and nationally. This report really helps understand how people with
neurological conditions end up in hospital and where we can act earlier and
work together to improve their lives.
“There are huge challenges in
improving care in people with neurological conditions, but having good
information, makes it a little easier to understand how we can be more
effective.”
David Bateman, National Clinical Director for Adult Neurology Conditions for NHS England, praised Dr
Kipps and his team saying: “This report takes that intelligence a step further,
analysing more closely how people with different neurological conditions
utilise hospital services and why. It demonstrates a substantial local increase
in demand for neurological services over the past five years.
“It further highlights how,
for example, a stronger focus on integrated care pathways and the earlier
treatment of infections in the community could significantly impact the number
of emergency hospital admissions for people with long-term neurological
conditions. The report also emphasises practical measures, already implemented in
various parts of the country that could be used locally to improve community
and emergency care in neurology.”
Anya De Iongh, studied medicine at Cambridge until her neurological conditions** forced her to leave:
“I have a number of conditions which meant
a fair few admissions to hospital at the beginning. It’s really disruptive to
day to day life as a young person, and can knock your confidence of managing a
condition. Anything that supports hospital stays to be shorter and fewer is
good, along with the right support out in our communities.”
Anya, lives in Dorset and now
works to promote self-management for people with long term illness. She also works
with research teams to promote the patients’ voice.
Outline findings:
·
High rate of fractures,
falls and injuries in Parkinson’s, and high levels of urinary and respiratory
tract infections.
·
High levels of urinary
tract pathology (including infection) in multiple sclerosis, with other factors
including falls and pressure ulcers also responsible.
·
Epilepsy data
identified a high level of injury associated with the condition, and may
represent a safety signal with respect to adequacy of community care.
·
Neuromuscular
conditions significantly associated with respiratory dysfunction, suggesting
the way care is planned for patients could be improved.
·
Headaches are
responsible for a high number of emergency admissions, but many of these could
potentially be managed better in the community
More facts and figures:
Over a five year period the
cost of treating people admitted to hospital with neurological conditions in
the Wessex region rose from £51 million to over £73 million per annum.
The number of people admitted
to hospital with a neurological condition rose by 49% from 2009-2014, and the
number of people seen in neurology outpatient clinics increased on average by
78% in the same time period.
The amount of money spent on
treating people with these conditions varies considerably across the region.
Epilepsy and headaches are by
far the most common reason for people to be admitted to hospital with a
neurological condition, however their stay is usually brief. Yet other
conditions like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and other neuromuscular
conditions (like MND) had longer hospital stays, and often have other medical
problems (comorbidities) directly responsible for, or contributing to, their
admission.
Sue Thomas, Chief Executive
for NHiS Commissioning Excellence: “I believe this information, which has been
a huge task to collate, really improves our knowledge of neurological
conditions and why people use hospital facilities. It’s useful to have this
detail across a population of 2.8 million people because it gives us very
practical insights into how we can change healthcare in the region.
“Those changes will make a
real difference to those people living with the conditions, helping them in
some cases to remain healthy and independent for longer.”
Notes to editors:
Dr Chris Kipps, Sue Thomas and
two people living with neurological conditions will be available to interview
under embargo from Monday 18 April in Southampton.
The launch of the report
itself takes place at the De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton from
10.00am on Tuesday 19 April.
For those wishing to book a
place please go to: http://www.nhis.com/events/wessex-neurology-intelligence-report-launch
For further details please contact:
Jamie Stevenson, Communications
and Marketing Manager, NIHR CLAHRC Wessex
023 8059 7974 e: jamie.stevenson@soton.ac.uk
Sue Thomas, Chief Executive,
NHiS Commissioning Excellence
07467 149147 e: sue.thomas@nhis.com
Organisations
involved*
About NHiS: NHiS
was founded in 2007 in response to a growing need in the marketplace for
quantitative and qualitative data to inform service redesign and pathway
efficiencies. NHiS’s services are split across two directorates – Commissioning
Excellence, which helps NHS organisations to plan and commission patient
services, and Healthcare Insight, which provides business intelligence and
insight solutions to pharma.
NHiS is part of healthcare intelligence provider Wilmington Healthcare, which
also incorporates Binley’s, OnMedica and Wellards. For more information, log on
to www.nhis.com
About
SCN and CLAHRC Wessex: Wessex
Strategic Clinical Network is part of NHS England
and works across the NHS to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the
Wessex region. This research is funded by the
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in
Applied Health Research and Care Wessex at
University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
About The National Institute for Health
Research: The National Institute for
Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the
health and wealth of the nation through research. The NIHR is the research arm
of the NHS. Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed
research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for
the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic
science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and
developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health
research. The NIHR plays a key role in the Government’s strategy for economic
growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its
world-class infrastructure for health research. Together, the NIHR people,
programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated
health research system in the world. For further information, visit the NIHR
website (www.nihr.ac.uk).
About Dr Chris Kipps, Clinical Director for the Strategic Clinical Network at
NHS England (Wessex) for Mental Health, Dementia and Neurological Conditions
Dr Christopher Kipps is a Consultant Neurologist with
subspecialty interest in behavioural neurology and cognitive disorders. He has
worked for University Hospital Southampton since 2007, and leads the Cognitive Disorders service. He
is the clinical lead for Neurology at Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust,
regional DeNDRoN (Dementias and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Network),
and Huntington's disease, Specialty Group lead for Nervous System Disorders for
Hampshire & Isle of Wight CCRN and a theme lead in the Wessex NIHR-CLAHRC.
He is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, and is
the principal investigator for a number of clinically-based research studies in
Huntington's disease and dementia. He trained in general neurology in Sydney
before working as a movement disorder fellow for a year and obtaining a diploma
of clinical epidemiology. He spent a year as a clinical fellow in Oxford before
completing a PhD in Cambridge in Cognitive Disorders before moving to
Southampton.
About Anya De Iongh**
Anya has been diagnosed with
POTS (Postural tachycardia syndrome), Chiari malformation and
Guillain-Barré Syndrome
as well as other long term conditions (LTCs).
She writes a blog to help people understand and manage long term illness
(sometimes called self-management) and is a keen sailor. Anya works with CLAHRC
Wessex as a patient champion, to help design and advise on the health research
it conducts.
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