Now patients who live in or around the Bury area who require Specialist Motor Neuron Disease (MND) follow up care will be able to access it closer to home.
The Salford Care Organisation will now be running their Specialist MND clinics in partnership with Bury Hospice, making this their third location.
Specialist MND clinics provide a place for people to meet with MND and palliative care consultants and specialist nurses for follow up support, including, symptoms management, advanced care planning, care reviews, discussions about MND and palliative care and advice on living well with the disease.
By holding the clinics in a hospice environment, patients are able to better understand how the hospice can provide support in their care and living well as well as help with making advanced care options clearer. In addition, the calming environment of the hospice, the ease of access and parking, and the support of the staff make for a very positive patient experience.
Rose Morris, MND Specialist Nurse said,
“We hope that holding the clinic within this environment also provides an introduction to the services available within the hospice for support and symptom management”
Alison and her mum Susan who is living with MND both agree, Alison said,
“The environment feels welcoming and calm and is closer for us to attend than Salford Royal – A much better option for us thank you”
The Specialist MND team have tried to get their clinics closer to their patients, in addition to their clinic run at the Salford Royal site, the team offer clinics at St Ann’s Hospice in Stockport, and they are now happy to offer this clinic in Bury.
Dr Tim Jackson, Palliative Care Consultant and Dr John Ealing, MND Consultant recognised the need to make it easier for their patients to attend follow up sessions and this became a big reason for the work to bring the clinics out to the Greater Manchester community.
Dr Ealing said, “We are excited to start this new joint clinic at Bury Hospice. We hope this will offer better access to services for people living with MND and their families closer to home.”
Barbara, who lives with MND and who attended the clinic launch in Bury is pleased to have these clinics closer to home,
“Attending the clinic here is a million times easier for me than having to travel to Salford Royal, it was a 10-minute journey rather than a 3-hour ambulance.”
Many thanks to the team at Bury Hospice for helping to make this happen.