Postcode lottery of care for Scots MS sufferers

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Helen Puttick Health Correspondent

According to the study, only about one-third of sufferers who could benefit from life-transforming medicines are taking them one of the worst rates in Europe.

Four NHS boards are failing to meet official standards for giving patients access to the range of specialists they need, according to the research by the MS Society.

The report, titled A Lottery of Treatment and Care MS Services across Scotland and the UK, reveals one-quarter of patients say they cannot see a neurologist when they need help with their symptoms.

Christine Carlin, director of the charity in Scotland, says in the foreword: "This report should be a sobering wake-up call for all of us working to improve the lives of people with MS in the UK.

"For the 10,500 people in Scotland who live with MS, there remains great inequality in the services, support and care available across the country."

Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, but Ms Carlin said the survey found too many areas where care and treatment lagged behind other parts of the UK. She added: "Some of the statistics in this report are nothing short of shameful."

The charity decided to survey its members across the UK last year to build a picture of the care they received nationwide and more than 10,500 responded, including 870 people in Scotland.

The poll revealed 36% of those sufferers with relapsing forms of MS were receiving medication that could help tackle their disease.

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Postcode lottery of care for Scots MS sufferers