MS Society takes nurse campaign to the Welsh Assembly

The MS Society is calling on the Welsh Government to protect existing MS specialist nurses from Health Board cuts and to provide additional investment where there are shortages.

Health Boards are currently under tremendous pressure to review their workforces and make savings and there is real concern that MS nurses will be cut back.

Judi Rhys, Director of MS Society Cymru, said: “We know Health Boards are reviewing their numbers of specialist nurses with some rural Boards considering disinvesting in MS, Parkinson’s and Epilepsy specialist nurses, and instead employing generic nurses."

MS nurses save money

The MS Society argue that far from being an expensive luxury, specialist nurses will save the NHS money.

Data collected by the Royal College of Nursing in 2010 showed that almost £10 million could be saved every year in Wales by MS specialist nurses intervening early and managing MS relapses at home rather than in hospital.

How can I help?

On 09 November the MS Society submitted a petition of 700 signatures calling for MS nurses to be protected. This has grown to over 1,500 signatures, but the more signatures collected, the greater the impact.

You can help by:

• Writing to your AM asking them to help save MS nurses and to sign our Statement of Opinion.
• Downloading our petition and getting as many of your friends and family as possible to sign
• Sharing your story with us about why MS nurses are so important to you - or let us know if there are threats to MS specialist nurse posts in your area