Survey of the UK Motor Neuron Disease Nurse and Allied Health Professional Workforce
Jun 2024: An Anne Rowling Clinic team has undertaken a survey of the demographics, roles and viewpoints of the UK Motor Neuron Disease Nurse and Allied Health Professional (UK MND NAHP) workforce. The results are summarised in a brochure, which can be downloaded here.
The survey was undertaken following the inaugural UK MND NAHP gathering in Edinburgh in Nov 2023, which brought together more than 80 attendees from MND clinical nurse specialists to MND research teams and MND AHPs.
Download the survey summary results brochure [PDF, 3MB]
The analysis revealed three key themes: the importance of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), the roles and the level of competencies, and the benefits and challenges in providing direct care.
A collaborative MDT was reported to be important to support the needs of patients, their carers/ family members, and the healthcare professionals themselves. Many of the respondents found that the flexibility, autonomy, and variety within their role were beneficial. The respondents provided key insights into the benefits of providing direct care; they associated it with feeling valued by the patients, their carers/ family members, and the core and extended MDT, and finding satisfaction in their work. However, there were some who reported that the perceived challenges of providing direct care involved isolation, lack of direct funding, and a high caseload with complex needs and not enough time to provide quality care; this was associated with 14% and 12% being at risk of medium and high risk of burnout, respectively.
This census report was the first-of-its-kind to be produced and it provides novel insights into the UK MND NAHP workforce. Its findings will inform important recommendations in workforce planning to maintain a resilient workforce and the development of a standardised MND training programme to promote effective MND care across the UK.
The inuaugural meeting and survey was instigated and led by by Judith Newton (MND Nurse Consultant for Scotland and Deputy Director of the Anne Rowling Clinic). The research was undertaken, analysed and presented by Isaac Chau (Research Nurse), Ethan Stoker (Research Nurse), and Jessica Gill (Rowling Graduate Intern).
Image: L-R Jessica Gill, Ethan Stoker, Judith Newton, Isaac Chau.