New initiative from leading MS charity provided almost £0.5m in savings to the NHS

New initiative from leading Multiple Sclerosis charity provided savings to the NHS of £465,376 per site, per year across 6 regions 

• Evidence collated by the MS Trust^[1] has revealed that many people with Advanced Multiple Sclerosis (AMS)* report losing contact with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) specialist services as their condition gets worse, leaving them to rely on informal care from family and friends
• In response the MS Trust created Advanced Multiple Sclerosis Champion (AMSC) roles in six^[2] areas across the UK, which have greatly improved quality of life, freed up GP and hospital time, and made significant financial savings to the NHS
• The AMSC role saved on average 52 hospital admissions per site, per year, saving each NHS site £465,376 annually
• The pilot also reported saving an average of 403 emergency bed days per site, 91 appointments for MS Specialist Nurses and 115 GP appointments
• The MS Trust is calling on policy makers to ensure resources are in place to enable AMSC roles to be embedded in NHS Trusts across the UK

In 2018 the MS Trust began a pilot programme which created, for the first time, an Advanced Multiple Sclerosis Champion (AMSC) role in Salford, Swansea, Cumbria, Poole, Norfolk and Bristol. The programme, which ran between 2018 and 2020, was funded by The October Club and the MS Trust^[3].

Establishing an AMSC within an NHS Trust’s MS team helped to free up capacity and provide more care to people with MS in the community. The AMSC’s role in attending home visits was particularly important given the complex disabilities people with AMS are living with. Many people with AMS become lost to specialist services; establishing an AMSC role has helped to re-engage patients in this most vulnerable group with essential care, with 10% of those referred by the AMSC being people with AMS who had previously been lost to services.

The Pilot also saw a consistent reduction in the number of people with advanced MS (pwAMS) requiring 2 or more hospital admissions during a 12-month period. Establishing an AMSC within an existing team of MS Specialist Nurses also released significant MS nurse resource and capacity, with an average of 91 Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurse appointments saved per year per site.

David Martin, CEO of the MS Trust said: “The pilot has shown that the AMSC role is not only financially viable but has significant cost savings for the NHS, improves patient flow, outcomes and patient experience for people with AMS and their families and has been greatly welcomed by other health and social care professionals. Crucially, the role helped to free up much needed hospital beds in each of the six areas.

These Champions are game changers for the NHS. With services under increased pressure, it is essential that policy makers in Government recognise the detrimental effect that AMS can have when not managed properly, something which is entirely avoidable. This is about co ordinating services which are already in place to relieve pressure on local health care services and ultimately protecting the individual. Now more than ever, the NHS needs to find ways of joining up services which are already running well to save precious resource and the AMSC does exactly that.”

AMS is characterised by increasing disability, including mobility and balance problems, severe pain and fatigue, difficulty swallowing, spasticity, bladder and bowel problems, and loss of memory. The MS Trust estimates up to 40,000 people in the UK have AMS.

There are often significant financial pressures for people with AMS and their families and for many younger people accepting their condition is extremely challenging. MS health professionals often only become aware of people with AMS when they have hit crisis point and have experienced multiple emergency hospital admissions.

Tania Burge, Head of Service at the MS Trust, who was also an AMSC for the pilot in Bristol said: “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Advanced MS Champion has become more vital than ever. It supports people with advanced MS who are struggling with the ongoing implications of the COVID -19 pandemic who have experienced reduced access to health professionals to manage their MS symptoms. This role has improved the quality of life for many people with advanced MS, enabling them to live well and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.”

The success of the pilot means that the MS Trust is now recruiting for wave two of the AMSC programme to ensure more people benefit from this vital service. To find out more please visit https://mstrust.org.uk/amsc-report

[1] Advanced multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by increasing disability, including mobility and balance problems, severe pain and fatigue, difficulty swallowing, spasticity, bladder and bowel problems, and loss of memory. The MS Trust estimates up to 40,000 people in the UK have advanced MS. View the full report here: Future of MS Services WEB FINAL.pdf (mstrust.org.uk)

[2] The AMSC roles were created in Salford, Swansea, north Cumbria, Dorset, Norfolk and Bristol.

[3] The MS Trust provided 90% of the funding for the Champion’s first 15 months in post, alongside facilitation of peer support, mentoring and a rigorous evaluation at each site.