News
Thousands of people will be diagnosed with a chronic fluctuating condition this year. The WorkLife website, launched on 8th July, provides the information and support they need to remain in or return to work, as well as information for managers and employers and healthcare professionals.
RCN's Frontline First Initiative
The RCN has launched the Frontline First initiative, a new UK-wide campaign designed to empower nursing staff to protect patient care and find the genuine savings that they know the NHS can make. Frontline First will give nursing staff the power to inform them about the cuts that you see affecting patient care, the waste in the system that is diverting resources from the frontline and the innovations and new ideas that are helping to deliver cost effective high quality care.
The RCN will continue to campaign for the protection of frontline services on which so many depend. As nurses you will already be familiar with the huge difference that you make to the lives of so many people and the RCN is determined that history does not repeat itself and that these frontline services do not become victims of ‘efficiency savings’ in the NHS.
In order for Frontline First to be effective, The RCN are asking for your support. You know, perhaps better than anyone, the power and importance of excellent nursing care, and this campaign will be the primary channel for information and engagement between yourselves, The RCN and the DoH.
Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholarships
The Florence Nightingale Foundation is offering scholarships to nurses, midwives and AHPs who want to become leaders with the skills and self-confidence to contribute positively and with some significance to the rapidly changing world of healthcare
The closing date for receipt of applications is 27 September 2010: interviews will be held in London during the last two weeks of November 2010.
Full details are available on the Foundation’s website
What to do if you are asked to work on the wards Guide
The “What to do if you are asked to work on the wards” guide will help you to determine the risk of working on a hospital ward as a trained nurse. It sets out some key points to think about before responding to a senior manager. It will help to identify different types of risk; within the ward environment and also the MS Specialist service. It is a downloadable word document that sets out a number of questions to help construct a response to the request for ward working. Please click on the following link to download the document MS Trust website.
NICE Guideline on Neuropathic Pain relating to Diabetes
NICE has published a quick reference guide that summarises the recommendations it has made to the NHS in
‘Neuropathic pain: the pharmacological management of neuropathic pain in adults in non-specialist
settings’ (NICE clinical guideline 96). This guidance updates and replaces recommendations on the
drug treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy in ‘Type 1 diabetes’ (NICE clinical guideline 15) and
‘Type 2 diabetes’ (NICE clinical guideline 87). Download the Guideline here
Nursing Roadmap for Quality
Chief Nursing Officer Dame Christine Beasley launched the Nursing Roadmap for Quality at a meeting with Directors of Nursing in the West Midlands on 4th March.
The Nursing Roadmap for Quality has been designed help nurses and their teams understand the elements of the quality framework that relate to nursing practice.
The purpose of the document is to:
• inform nurses and their teams of their role in supporting quality improvements against the seven elements of the quality framework
• provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for key resources, which nursing teams can use to further demonstrate their added contribution to quality
• reinforce the need for nurses to identify ways to reduce waste and repetition, by contributing to the quality and productivity challenge.
In launching this work, Dame Christine Beasley said
“Nurses are passionate about delivering high quality care. This Nursing Roadmap for Quality is an essential reference guide with over 40 key resources to support nurses’ delivery quality.
It will help them have the key tools, resources and approaches in one useful place. It aims to help them further improve the excellent care nurses gave day in day out, and assist them in telling the story on how nurses continually contribute to high quality patient care and experience.“
The Roadmap will be available to all as a reference guide supporting good quality care across the NHS and in social care.
The document is available on the Department of Health website
The 2010 Multiple Sclerosis Annual Evidence Update
The 2010 Multiple Sclerosis Annual Evidence Update highlights knowledge published in systematic reviews and guidelines in the past twelve months on the diagnosis, treatment and management of MS. This information is presented in an easily accessible format and with additional expert commentary and will provide busy healthcare professionals with the information they need to keep up to date.
The most robust evidence-based systematic reviews from the period under review were selected by topic advisors after review of almost 500 articles.
The evidence has been split into the following sections:
•Aetiology and epidemiology
•Diagnosis
•Treatment
◦Symptomatic
◦Disease modifying
•Risk factors and adverse events
•Cost
•Trial methodology
NHS Evidence - neurological conditions
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European Medicines Agency - Tysabri
The European Medicines Agency issued a press release on 21st January which calls for additional measures to improve the management of the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) with Tysabri. Their recommendations are:
- an update of the product information to include information about the increase in the risk of PML after two years of treatment and additional advice on how to manage patients who show signs of PML and
- forms to be signed by patients at the beginning of treatment with Tysabri, and again after two years of treatment, after in-depth discussions about the risk of PML with their doctor.
Go to the EMA website to read the full document . Also Q&A on the review of Tysabri There is also a link to the European Public Assessment Report on Tsyabri
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ACNR publishes "The Year in MS Research 2009
ACNR (Advances in Clinical Neuroscience & Rehabilitation) published a supplement to their Jan/Feb issue, called The Year in MS Research 2009 which was produced by Co-Editor, Alasdair Coles, and his colleagues. This may be of interest to MS Nurses and there are spare copies available.
If you would like a copy please contact Rachael Hansford at the ACNR; Tel: 01747 860168
Neurological Health Services Clinical Standards for Scotland
The new clinical guidelines for Neurological Services in Scotland were published in October 2009. download them here
ABN Guidelines November 2009
The Association of British Neurologists (ABN) has recently published their revised guidelines for prescribing in MS. You can download the new guidelines from the ABN website
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Multiple Sclerosis: Answers at your Fingertips
by Dr David Rog, Megan Burgess, Dr John Mottershead & Dr Paul Talbot
This is the 2nd edition of this book, fully revised and updated. It has answers to over 300 questions asked by people with MS and their families and provides up-to-date and medically accurate information on treatments as well as practical help and advice on a range of topics.
Published by Class Publishing, price £17.99 Freepost 16705, Macmillan Distribution, Basingstoke RG21 6ZZ, Tel: 01256 302 699
Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurses: Adding value and delivering NHS
targets
Written at a time of great change within the NHS, this document is targeted at
commissioners, PCT fund holders, Directors of Nursing, service managers and
others involved in the provision of health services. The document
identifies the value and benefits of employing MSSNs in terms of cost
effectiveness as well as clinical efficiency.
Adding value and delivering NHS targets 
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ISSCR Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has released Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells that examine the scientific, clinical, regulatory, ethical and societal issues that must be addressed to ensure that basic stem cell research is responsibly transitioned into appropriate clinical applications.
The guidelines call for rigorous standards in the development of stem cell therapies including stringent evaluation and oversight, a thorough informed consent process and transparency in operations and reporting. The ISSCR acknowledges the evolving state of scientific and clinical knowledge of stem cell-based products, and places responsibility on clinical investigators to work alongside regulators in refining standards of pre-clinical and clinical evaluation. The Guidelines will be reviewed and revised as needed to incorporate new scientific advances and to address specific translational research issues.
The ISSCR also recognizes an urgent need to address the problem of unproven stem cell therapies being marketed directly to patients. While stem cell research holds tremendous promise for the development of new treatments for many serious diseases, nearly all stem cell therapies are new and highly experimental.
The ISSCR has also published a Patient Handbook on Stem Cell Therapies
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World Atlas of MS 
The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have published a World Atlas of MS, which is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the occurrence of MS around the world and the availability of resources to provide services and support to people with MS.
The Atlas is the result of three years of research coordinated by the WHO and MSIF. More than 100 countries participated in the study, replacing impressions and opinions with facts and figures. Topics covered by the Atlas include:
- Epidemiology – prevalence, incidence and total numbers
- Epidemiology – average age of onset and male/female ratio
- MS organisations
- Diagnosis
- Information
- Support and services
- Drugs and treatment
- Human resources
- Disability entitlements, legislation and social insurance
- Major issues
For more information and to download the Atlas Report go to the MSIF website here
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MS Society Information Services
The newsletter from the MS National Centre (MSNC) Information Services
team is a simple way to keep up to date with new resources, information events and examples
of good practice from around the country.
The info team is there to support people affected by MS to access up-to-date evidence based
information and to signpost to other sources of expertise. Through working with colleagues at
MS National Centre and locally we can together meet the information needs of everyone affected by MS.
Contact the MS Society Information Team at or phone 020 8438 0799.
The MS Trust Information Service
Whatever your question about MS, the MS Trust’s Information Team is here to help you try and find the information you need. Using our collection of medical papers, textbooks and other resources, they will find information to match your particular questions, whether it be symptoms or treatments or literature searches to help with service development.
Contact the MS Trust Information Team or phone 01462 476700
Long Term Neurological Conditions
A good practice guide to the development of the multidisciplinary team and the value of the specialist nurse
This is a publication by the Department of Health in collaboration with the RCN, Epilepsy Action, the MS Society, Parkinson's Disease Society and NHS National Workforce Projects. It is aimed at commissioners and providers of services for people with long term neurological conditions to help them offer the right service, delivered by an appropriate workforce, to meet the needs of a vulnerable group of patients. It outlines why services for neurological conditions are important, demonstrates the value of the MDT and clarifies the contribution of specialist nurses.
Link to NHS National Workforce Projects website to download the document
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