Main pic: Charles Ward TD and patient advocate and NAI board member, Eamon McPartlin.
The Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI), the national umbrella body neurological organisations, met with Donegal Oireachtas members at a pre-Budget event this week.
At the meeting, NAI members raised concerns about what they called the government’s slow response on neurorehabilitation services. This, they claim, is creating a ‘postcode lottery’ and exacerbating health inequalities for those most in need.
Donegal TD Charles Ward heard that 78% of survey respondents in the north west reported they were unable to access neurorehabilitation services in the past 12 months.
Magdalen Rogers, Executive Director of the NAI, welcomed the recommitment to deliver on promised neurorehabilitation services in the Programme for Government published this year. However, she says, the longer the government falls short on its responsibility to patients, the greater the inequalities experienced across the country.
“The importance of community neurorehabilitation teams cannot be understated,” Ms Rogers said.
“The current community neurorehabilitation team in the North West is only funded for 2.5 staff instead of the minimum 12 it should have. This is resulting in waiting times of up to six months for neurological patients throughout Donegal.”
The NAI is seeking funding to uplift the North West community team from 2.5 to 12 staff in this year’s Budget.
Patient advocate and NAI board member, Eamon McPartlin is from the Northwest region. Eamon was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in 2021. He explained the importance of access to neurorehabilitation teams: “For those living with a neurological condition, multidisciplinary treatment is so important including neurophysiotherapy, psychology and speech and language therapy – and for many they cannot receive this treatment locally, they’re having to travel huge distances to access the health care they need and are entitled to receive.
“When you consider the costs of that travel and accommodation, the significant time they and their family might need to take off work, the impact of that regional inequality grows and grows. I know that from speaking to others, the consequences of living with a neurological condition can be even more difficult to deal with than the condition itself.
“In many parts of the country, for those living with a neurological condition a community neurorehabilitation team may be their only option to access the services they urgently need to support them in living a better quality of life.”
The NAI represents over thirty charities advocating for the rights of over 860,000 people in Ireland living with a neurological condition.
For more information, visit www.nai.ie
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