Welsh NHS providing better and faster care for people with neurological conditions – new report

People admitted to hospital with a neurological condition are receiving better and faster treatment as a result of the care they receive from the Welsh NHS, a new report published by the Welsh Government today shows.

More than 500,000 people in Wales are affected by a neurological condition, such as epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis. Around 660 people a year die as a result of their neurological condition.

A long-term neurological condition results from disease, injury or damage to the body’s nervous system (such as the brain, spinal cord and/or the peripheral nerve connections), which will affect the individual and their family in some way for the rest of their life.

These conditions can have a serious and lasting impact on the lives of individuals and their families. Of those affected, around 100,000 will have a long-term neurological condition.

The Neurological Delivery Plan, which was published in May 2014, sets out the Welsh Government’s vision for neurological services in Wales.

The plan’s first annual report shows:

• The number of deaths from neurological conditions is relatively low in Wales (664 in 2013). When calculated as an age standardised rate for all deaths across the UK, the rate for Wales is below that of the other countries in the UK
• There has been a fall in the number of people waiting more than 26 weeks for their first outpatient appointment with a consultant neurologist, reducing from 15% to 12% between July 2014 and July 2015
• There were just over 15,000 hospital admissions relating to neurological conditions in 2014 – the average length of stay was 5.3 days
• People admitted to hospital as a result of a neurological condition now spend less time in hospital thanks to the care they receive from the Welsh NHS. The average length of stay has fallen from 9.8 days in 2009 to 5.3 days in 2014
• There has been a decrease in the number of multiple admissions – from 64 in January 2014 to 20 in January 2015
• In 2014-15, 627 people were recruited into a neurological Health and Care Research Wales clinical research portfolio study. This was an increase of 62% (241 people) compared to the previous year
• NHS expenditure on neurological system conditions in 2013-14 was £266.8m, an increase of £102.2m since 2009-10.

The report also highlights a number of areas for improvement:

• There are too many emergency admissions for people with neurological conditions – this currently represents 45% of all hospital admissions related to neurological conditions
• Of the 21,358 neurological patients treated in Wales during 2014-15, 70% were seen and treated within 26 weeks. This is a slight fall from 2013-14 when 72% of patients were treated within 26 weeks.

Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething said:

“We want to ensure people affected by a neurological condition have timely access to high-quality care, integrated with social services where appropriate, irrespective of where they live and how these services are delivered.

“I’m pleased we have made progress in delivering this plan, but there’s always more we can do to ensure our services are up there with the very best available.

“We have already committed to investing £1.2m to improve access to neuro-rehabilitation services in Wales. We want health boards to use this funding to make tangible differences in the health, wellbeing and independence of people living with long-term neurological conditions.”

Dr Andrew Goodall, chief executive of NHS Wales, said:

“This is the first annual report about neurological conditions in Wales. It demonstrates our clear commitment to improving the care for people with a neurological condition and reporting on progress.

“If we are successful in delivering this plan, over time we would expect to see a continued fall in the number of deaths from neurological conditions as the primary cause of death as we become more effective in supporting people to live longer with their illness.”