MS PATIENTS JUST NURSE
resourced by the health service to give people with MS the support they need.”
The Multiple Sclerosis Trust recommend one specialist nurse for every 358 patients with the condition but Mhairi’s workload was far in excess of this ratio.
They praised her dedication for supporting her patients in their homes and at drop-in clinics, many of which were held outside regular hours and throughout the health board area.
Some of those patients spoke of their concerns that Mhairi is leaving to take up a post with a charity.
Emma Smith, 35, from Hamilton, discovered she had MS six years ago after a fall at a pub she managed.
She now works as a bookkeeper at the same pub but manages to hold down her job because of the support she gets from her nurse.
She said: “We know Mhairi is leaving at the end of the month but we know no details of what will happen when she goes.
“It is hardly surprising she has gone. She must have been under huge amounts of stress with all those patients.
“It is disgraceful there is only one MS nurse for the whole of Lanarkshire. We really need at least three.
“I only see her every three months but some of my friends need to see her every month and they are worried about what will happen.” Another MS patient cared for by Mhairi said: “We really are at crisis point.
“We really need our specialist nurse, particularly those of us who are on disease-modifying therapies and have to have our bloods monitored regularly.
“Any nurse can take bloods but only a specialist can interpret them properly. Without a specialist nurse, far more of us will end up in hospital.
“The MS Trust offered Lanarkshire funding for a second MS nurse but they rejected it twice because they knew after a certain period they would have had to fund it.”
Local Labour MSP Monica Lennon said the loss of the nurse was “a devastating blow to MS patients”.
She added: “Despite being overloaded with cases, my constituents tell me their MS nurse has been a lifeline to them.
“MS is more common in Scotland compared with most countries but instead of increasing specialist nurses,