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  • Lack of access to MS nurses

    Author: AAP

Almost one in three people living with multiple sclerosis in Australia don't have access to condition-specific nursing care, an advocacy body says.

MS Australia on Tuesday released its MS Nurse Care in Australia Report, which surveyed 1417 people with the neurological disease.

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More than 31 per cent of respondents indicated they did not have access to MS nurse care.

Of those, some 13 per cent indicated an MS nurse was not available, while some 18 per cent were unaware of the existence of an MS nurse.

MS Australia President, Associate Professor Desmond Graham, said there was an urgent need for more government support, with roughly 90 MS-specific nurses working across the country.

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The report concluded people without a nurse providing tailored MS care had consistently worse health outcomes.

"MS nurse care reduces the need for people with MS to unnecessarily see other, more costly health professionals, such as GPs and neurologists," the report said.

"And (it) seems to reduce unnecessary emergency department presentations and potentially, hospital admissions."

A $5 million annual government spend could fund nurses for the 8000 people without access, the report concluded, and reduce the total cost of their MS care by $64 million per year.

Tasmanian Lynda Hanlon, 56, has lived with MS for 15 years with a nurse by her side.

"This has relieved my anxiety around relapses and minimised hospital admissions," she said.

"Just knowing I can contact my nurse by phone, email or in person gives me a sense of security and support, especially since they have travelled my journey and understand."

More than 25,600 people in Australia are living with MS. It is the common chronic neurological disease diagnosed among young adults.

The report drew from three surveys undertaken from 2018-20.

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