I attended the 'Navigating the Economical impact for Neurological Disorders in the UK' Parliamentary Drop In today, which allowed me to engage with representatives from the charities; Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I also learnt more about a new report by Roche that showcased the importance of investing in neurological care.
A common assumption is that neurological care is often-overlooked area in healthcare policy, and has historically received minimal investment, which in turn affects the wider UK economy. However, I found out today under the Conservative government, this aspect of healthcare gets more funding than education, and other large areas of governmental focus.
Neurological care in the UK is at the forefront of Roche's discussions as they sponsored and funded this analysis - the comprehensive study examines the impact of neurological disorders on the UK economy, shedding light on both the direct and indirect costs associated with conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. 1 in 6 people have at least one of these diseases. The collective number of cases for these conditions in the country comes to 14.5m, and the direct and indirect economic burden hits over 4.3% of GDP in 2019.
I spoke to representatives from each of the charities who advocate for people living with these conditions and spoke to them about the challenges they currently face.
I'm glad the Conservative Government are already actioning this and cutting down waiting times. We are doing that by recruiting more doctors and nurses. The latest data shows we have a record 1.2 million full-time equivalent staff in the NHS in England – over 34,000 more people compared to a year ago, including almost 4,000 more doctors and over 9,300 more nurses.
