Neurological Alliance of Ireland launch report on impact of Covid-19 on access to care

The Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) launched a report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to care for people with neurological conditions on 7 September.

Some key findings from the report include:

• More than 30% of patients are very concerned that they will not be  able to access essential services, while 15% fear a deterioration in their condition due to a lack of access to care.
• Nearly 50% of family carers reported that access to a range of essential therapies such as physiotherapy, speech & language therapy & neuropsychology have not returned to pre-COVID levels.
• Over 50% of patients surveyed reported that access to consultant neurology and nurse specialist services have not returned to normal since COVID-19.
• 96% of people self-identifying as long Covid patients reported they were unable to access neurorehabilitation services.

NAI are calling for specific measures to address the findings of the report:

• A specific assessment and recovery plan for neurology and neurorehabilitation services
• Engagement with voluntary providers to address the impact of the pandemic
• Priority resourcing of specialist supports for service users with neurological consequences from long COVID, including expansion of Ireland’s only dedicated long COVID neurology service and fully staffing 9 community neurorehabilitation teams around the country. 

Click here to read the full report. 

ENDS