National action plan for neurological conditions in Scotland

The Neurological Action Plan will drive improvements for people affected by neurological conditions and their carers.

The current draft document makes bold commitments which if implemented could really change how care is delivered, removing the current inequities in treatment and care and guaranteeing consistency across Scotland.

The plan has five core aims and makes 17 key commitments. They paint a broad picture of what they envision as the future of care and support for everyone affected by a neurological condition.

The five aims are to:

• ensure people with neurological conditions and their carers are partners in their care and support
• improve the provision of co-ordinated health and social care and support for people with neurological conditions
• ensure high standards of effective, person-centred, and safe care and support
• improve equitable and timely access to care and support across Scotland
• build a sustainable neurological workforce fit for the future.

It is really important that the voices of people affected by a brain tumour are heard within the neurological community.

The National Action Plan will have real implications for brain tumour patients’ care and the support that is available in the future in Scotland. This is why we have responded to the public consultation.

We think:

• The National Action Plan sets out a positive bold vision for the future of care and support for people with neurological conditions including those with brain tumours
• It is welcome to see the focus on individuals and their carers as partners – this partnership is important and we are pleased to see that carers’ role has been respected in the creation of this National Action Plan
• We are pleased that shared-decision making is at the heart of the plan – this should underpin care and support and its inclusion in the plan is positive
• Whilst we are pleased that the National Action Plan recognises the unique challenge of transitions between services, it is disappointing that it has failed to consider the future of support and care for children and young people under the age of 16 – the unique impact of a neurological condition on children and young people warrants specific attention and planning
• We encourage the Scottish Government to work closely with third sector organisations in the planning and implementation phases of the National Action Plan – organisations representing individual neurological conditions have deep insights and can help to raise the voices of people living with and affected by these conditions

The draft version is publicly available and you can read the document and share your views directly here until Friday 8 February

As part of our work in Scotland, we will continue to work hard to make sure that our community’s voice is heard.

We will continue to drive and influence change across the UK, fighting for equal access to treatment and care for brain tumour patients.