HEALTHCARE for people in Oxford who are suffering from neurological conditions needs to be improved, a report has recommended.

Healthwatch Oxfordshire and the Oxfordshire Neurological Alliance funded the report, which was released today and calls for more joined up care.

It also highlighted the important role played by the voluntary sector and informal carers and urged service providers such as the NHS to give them appropriate support.

The report concluded that by improving communication between providers of care to people with neurological conditions there would be a more efficient and effective service.

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Healthwatch Oxfordshire chief executive Rachel Coney said: “Patients with neurological conditions have some of the greatest difficulty in communicating how they feel and how they are treated, yet it is crucial for service providers and commissioners to understand their care experiences and needs.

“We are asking commissioners and providers to consider what they can do to respond to the recommendations contained in this report.”

The report also highlighted the importance of communication between patients, families, carers, social care services and the wider community.

It said qualified support workers were important in helping provide this communication and recommended that GPs be encouraged and supported to help them make diagnoses.

Oxfordshire Neurological Alliance chairman Jamie Miller said: “This survey is the first of its kind for the local neurological community.”

“We hope that our report will inform the commissioning of future neurology services locally and nationally – and it will also be crucial in helping us to understand what progress is being made in improving these services and what still needs to happen.”

Dr Richard Wood, of the Neurology for Oxfordshire clinical commissioning group, said: “The Healthwatch report highlights themes very close to the heart of Oxfordshire CCG, managing multi-morbidity, more integrated care across multiple professionals, the closer involvement of voluntary and other sectors, and of course a care that is planned around the patient and their carers.

“It is also positive to see that what we are already doing in this area appears to be working for patients; there just needs to be more of it.”

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