Advocates sound alarm on lack of neurorehab services for patients in Kilkenny

The Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) along with patient advocates has been highlighting the impact that inadequate supports are having on people living with neurological conditions in Kilkenny.  

The NAI, the national umbrella body for over 30 neurological organisations, met with Kilkenny Oireachtas members at a pre-Budget event last week, at which NAI members raised concerns about the government’s slow response on neurorehabilitation services, and a resulting 'postcode lottery'.

Representatives from Kilkenny heard at the event in at Buswells Hotel, Dublin, that gaps in neurorehabilitation services mean that a quarter of those surveyed for, ‘The Right Care in the Right Place: Access to Services for People with Neurological Conditions Across Ireland,’ report have never been able to access neurorehabilitation.
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They also heard that 73% of respondents in the South-East had been unable to access community neurorehabilitation services in the past 12 months.

In its pre-budget submission, the NAI is calling for investment in four community neurorehabilitation teams in order to deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to complete the rollout of community neuro-rehabilitation teams across the country. The North West, South East, North Dublin and the Midlands have received no funding to date for teams promised in the 2019 National Implementation Framework for the Neuro-rehabilitation Strategy.

Attendees, which included TDs, senators, local councillors and patient groups were briefed on the lack of progress in the region with establishing neurorehabilitation services. Despite a Government promise made in 2019, there is now a notable regional disparity for patients in Kilkenny, as the South-East is one of four regions in the country that has yet to receive funding for a community neurorehabilitation team.

The NAI is calling on the government to fulfil the commitment within the current Programme for Government to complete the rollout of community neurorehabilitation teams across the country. Six years after the implementation plan for the National Neurorehabilitation Strategy was published, most areas across the country are still without any access to a community neurorehabilitation team.

Addressing attendees, Bernadette Myler Driscoll, a patient advocate from the South-East highlighted the lack of funding for the community rehabilitation team in the area. Bernadette currently cares for her mother who has Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson’s Disease, and cares for her husband who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Bernadette organises weekly social and physical activity meetups for people with neurological conditions and their carers, in Kilkenny which was set up in 2020.

As part of an ongoing series of online events, patient advocates and individuals living with neurological conditions will share their personal experiences, highlighting the significant impact of the shortage of neurorehabilitation teams in their region.