Leeds man with MS is calling for changes to the shortages in vital neurology services
Ayad Marhoon says he told his consultant he was deteriorating, but didn't get face to face support
Last updated 8th Nov 2021
A psychology graduate living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) from Leeds has visited the Houses of Parliament to call on the UK Government to address the shortages in vital neurology services.
Ayad Marhoon was diagnosed with MS in March 2019 and started medication in June. He quickly noticed his condition was deteriorating and didn't think the tablets were helping.
However, he says he struggled to get a face to face appointment with his consultant and was told instead to stay hydrated.
He said:
"Understandably, it wasn’t possible to have face-to-face appointments, over the pandemic, but my condition was rapidly declining. Getting through to a consultant about this was almost impossible, even telephone appointments were far and few. Unfortunately it’s meant I’ve gone from skipping daily to using a wheelchair every day.
"Before the pandemic, in terms of physical ability, I wasn't 100%, but I was able to cycle, I was able to skip, I was able to jog.
"To stress about things will make things worse, I can't dwell on how things can be different, for me at this point, it's about thinking about the future, and how things can be done properly, to avoid things getting worse.
"I know that the position I'm in now might not be changeable, but to prevent others having to go through the same thing, is the least I can do."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
“Throughout the pandemic, the NHS has worked hard to maintain access to specialist support for conditions such as multiple sclerosis, including remote consultations for patients.
“We have provided a historic long-term settlement for the NHS, to transform services for those with long term conditions, which will see NHS funding increase by £33.9 billion by 2023-24. This is in addition to our investment to tackle the backlog, with £2 billion this year, plus £8 billion more over the next three years to deliver an extra 9 million checks, appointments and procedures for patients across the country. Dedicated surgical hubs and over 100 community diagnostic centres are also being rolled out to ramp up routine surgery.”