The document discusses the past, present, and future of MS nursing. In the past, there were few treatments and nurses learned on the job with no clear structure. Now there are over 14 disease-modifying therapies and increased expectations. In the future, technology will play a bigger role with apps to help monitor symptoms and mobile health. There will also be changes to the NHS workforce as recruiting and retaining nurses is difficult due to increasing pressures. Succession planning will be important as the roles become more complex. New roles and skill mixes within teams will be needed to adapt to the changing healthcare environment.

1. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE…
THE NEXT 21 YEARS
Karen Vernon
MS Nurse Consultant

2. CMSC 2002

3. 2002
 4 DMTs
 “learning on the job”
 No clear structure to job planning
 Manageable caseload
 Equity of access for all patients with MS
 Developing our expertise

4. MS NURSE TODAY
14 DMTS Blood monitoring
Inequitable access to
some nurses
Increased demand
Increased expectations
Haematology
Endocrinology
Dermatology
Cardiology
Infusion nurse
Relapse management
Nurse prescriber
Symptom management
Increased clinical activity

5. TODAY
 Between 2016 and 2017, 45 per cent more UK
registrants left the register than joined it for the first
time.
 Data indicates that more nurses are leaving the
register before retirement age with a noticeable
increase in those aged under 40 leaving (NMC July
2017)
 In the 2016 NHS staff survey work-life balance is
now the fastest growing reason for voluntary
resignation of NHS staff.

6. MOVING ON
 In general:
 People are taking ownership of their well-being, and
preventative care is at the forefront of focus for all involved in
healthcare.
 Fitness trackers alert wearers of the exact number of calories
burned from walking a certain number of steps.
 Health & wellbeing mobile apps.
 Online consultations “push doctor.com”
 This will and is translating into MS care

7. EXAMPLES IN PRACTICE APPLICABLE TO MS
 Neuroresponse
 Skype for consultations
 Facebook groups
 Patient pre consultation
apps
 Patient reported EDSS
app
 Symptom management
apps
 Self reported timed walks
 Online 9 hole peg test

8. THE NHS OF THE FUTURE

9.  Succession planning:
 Not the pool of experienced nurses out there
 Some struggle to cope with the complexity of the role
 Change in nurse training
 There is a gap, and it’s one that is growing and
increasingly hard to fill. Recruiting new staff and
keeping existing staff is more difficult because jobs
on the frontline are getting harder and more
pressurised.
 director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers

10.  Right mix of staff and skills is essential for the delivery of high-quality
care.
 Working together across organisational boundaries, to redesigning
the workforce to meet the needs of their population and deliver new
models of care.
 Workforce redesign has also been part of the solution in some areas
and specialities to the absence of sufficient numbers of nurses
 These changes to skill mix in teams and the way in which staff work
together can therefore deliver improvements for patients, staff and an
organisation’s finances.
 Developing new roles can also enhance multidisciplinary team
working, free up others’ workloads
 Nurses’ roles must be clarified and regulated, and their expertise
valued.

11.  Nurses bring order to chaos, speak up for the
vulnerable and work with people at times of
suffering. It is still one of the most trusted
professions.
 Prof Alison Leary