Motor Neurone Disease

The Motor Neurone Disease (MND) care centre offers specialist diagnostic and disease management services for patients with MND and their carers. Our service is managed by a consultant neurologist specialising in MND. It includes a team of dedicated MND care coordinators (with backgrounds in nursing and occupational therapy) and a dedicated senior physiotherapist.

We place particular emphasis on a careful and accurate initial diagnosis, and on holistic patient-centred management of the disease. To help in diagnosis, we have state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities, including electromyography and nerve conduction studies (EMG/NCS) equipment, used to measure electrical activity in the muscles and nerves.

Helping you to manage your condition

The identification and control of key symptoms is at the heart of our holistic approach to MND management. The MND specialist care coordinators help to synchronise care and specialist rehabilitation services for symptom management. They also help with equipment or carer support as necessary. They run support groups for patients, their families and carers to discuss aspects of the disease, its management and their concerns.

Our staff work in close partnership with speech and language therapists, dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists. We work with teams based both in Newcastle Hospitals and in the community. We also work with specialist regional rehabilitation services, to provide a seamless service for all our patients.

Specialist advice and support where and when you need it

We are committed to working closely with rehabilitation services in the community to ensure that people with MND get the support and care needed to lead as normal a life as possible. There is a dedicated direct telephone helpline in addition to strong links with local voluntary groups and charities. They are able to provide further specialist information and support. The care centre also produces a bi-monthly newsletter to help keep patients, families and carers up to date with activities and services.

The Newcastle MND care centre works closely with other care centres nationally. Through these partnerships we are involved in research and trials to improve clinical practice and care. This means that patients attending the centre may have an opportunity to try potential new therapies for their condition. Our patients are often amongst the first to benefit from ground-breaking new treatments.