Thanks to the fundraising efforts of its supporters, the MS Trust has helped to recruit and fund a new MS specialist nurse at South Tees as part of its campaign to ensure nobody in the UK has to manage MS alone.
Claire Naisbitt has been appointed to the programme at The James Cook University Hospital to help provide more accessible support to around 2,000 patients.
MS is a condition that can affect the brain and/or spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.
MS specialist nurses are vital for people living with MS. They can help them adjust to diagnosis, consider complicated treatment options, manage a wide range of symptoms and learn to live well with an unpredictable, often debilitating, lifelong condition.
Dr Adrienn Petreczky with MS specialist nurses Karen Little, Claire Naisbitt and Fiona Tait.
The MS Trust conducts regular research into nursing levels across the UK and has found around two-thirds of people with MS in the UK live in areas where there aren’t enough MS nurses.
Jo Sopala, director of health professional programmes at the MS Trust, said: “We know the new MS nurses will make a huge difference to local people living with MS and we will be there to support them every step of the way.”
Claire, who previously worked as a nurse on the acute neurology ward and in the community, added: “I love being a nurse as I enjoy caring for people and strive to deliver the best care for them. I am really looking forward to the MS Trust’s training programme and developing into my new role.”
To find out more visit mstrust.org.uk/nurses
