Way Ahead
ISSN 1446-559X
This newsletter is produced quarterly for nurses and health professionals who work with people with MS. Apart from general news and updates, each edition has two or three articles which, it is hoped, explore an area of interest in clinical management.
Way Ahead Volume 17 Part 2 (April 2013)
Read Way Ahead Volume 17 Part 2 (April 2013) as a PDF (4.4mb)
Broadening horizons for MS caregivers: Launching MS Nurse PROfessional
Launch of new accredited educational tool, MS Nurse Professional, for those working with people with multiple sclerosis
Two MS services are better than one
New model for neuro services in Bolton with a regional diagnostic/early management service, but a local needs-based service.
Focusing on unplanned admissions in MS through clinical audit
Clinical audit of unplanned hospital admissions in people with MS at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust .
Development of a self management programme for people with a neurological condition
The establishment of a self management programme for people with a neurological condition including multiple sclerosis
Way Ahead Volume 17 Part 1 (January 2013)
Read Way Ahead Volume 17 Part 1 (January2013) as a PDF (990 KB)
TONiC quality of life study: inviting professionals to contribute
Benjamin O'Sullivan, Academic Foundation Doctor, Walton Centre Foundation Trust, Liverpool; Carolyn Young, Professor of Neurology and Consultant Neurologist, Walton Centre Foundation Trust, Liverpool
NICE to produce vitamin D guidance
Speech, swallowing and language needs in MS
Heather Whitehouse, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Independent Practitioner.
Psychologists in MS: the missing dinner guests?
Lorraine Maher-Edwards, Counselling Psychologist; Annette Schwartz, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist; Liz Wilkinson, MS Specialist Nurse; Central Surrey Health
Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 4 (October 2012)
Read Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 4 (October2012) as a PDF (1.11mb)
MS Trust reserach; The information needs of the newly diagnosed
Patient-centred care: What's the problem?
Alison Smith, Rehabilitation Specialist Nurse MS; Christopher Ward, Consultant Neurologist; University of
Nottingham Division of Rehabilitation Medicine and Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital.
My experience of working with Nice in Guideline Development Group
Noreen Barker, MS Specialist Nurse, Hertfordshire Neurological Service, Abbots Langley, Herts.
Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 3 (July 2012)
Read Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 3 (July 2012) as a PDF (1.38mb)
Government policy round-up
Alice Hamilton, Policy Officer, MS Trust
Project launched: Generating Evidence in Multiple Sclerosis Services (GEMSS)
Geraldine Mynors, Independent Healthcare Consultant and Analyst, Mynors Suppiah, UK
How to manage your own stress
Barbara Lynch, Psychotherapist, Dublin, Ireland
Osteoporosis in MS
Vicki Matthews, MS specialist nurse and MS Trust nurse advisor, MS Trust, Letchworth, UK
MS Nurse PROfessional – an update
Vicki Matthews, MS specialist nurse and MS Trust nurse advisor, MS Trust, Letchworth, UK.
Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 2 (April 2012)
Read Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 2 (April 2012) as a PDF (1.37mb)
Celebrating ten years
of the UKMSSNA
Sam Colhoun and Huseyin Huseyin, MS Specialist Nurses
How many MS specialist
nurses do we need – a caseload survey?
Alison Leary, Healthcare Analyst, London
Setting the trend: a course in self-management
Emma Manchester, MS Specialist Physiotherapist; Emma Matthews, MS Specialist Occupational Therapist; Liz
Watson, MS Specialist Nurse
Secondary progressive MS: the transition
Stephen Wilson, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and Wendy Hartland, MS Specialist Nurse
Using the StayingSmart online
resource in clinical practice
Pauline Shaw and Joan Regan, MS Specialist Nurses
Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 1 (January 2012)
Read Way Ahead Volume 16 Part 1 (January 2012) as a PDF (1.18mb)
Health and Social Care Bill - where are we now?
Amy Bowen, MS Trust
Maintaining skin integrity - a case study
Verity Dods, MS specialist nurse
The impact of MS on my working life
Cathy John, freelance writer
Improvement of MS services - the outpatient experience
Alison Thomson, designer and action-researcher
Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 4 (October 2011)
Read Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 4 (October 2011) as a PDF (1.18mb)
MS policy update
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
The national audit of services for people with multiple sclerosis - 2011
Sleep disturbance in multiple sclerosis
Paula Cowan, physiotherapist
The impact of the NICE guidelines on people's experience of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Stephanie Maw, MS nurse
Neuropsychology services in England - a starting point
Jo Johnson, neuropsychologist, Leigh Johnson, data analyst
Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 3 (July 2011)
Read Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 3 (July 2011) as a PDF (1.38mb)
RIMS 2011 conference report
Vicki Matthews, MS Trust
The basis of good commissioning
Lesley Humber, formerly Director of Operations and Locality Development, Southwark PCT
Core stability training in MS
Margaret Gear, Helen Hunter, Dr Jenny Freeman, physiotherapists
Risk communication: why we need understandable information
Wolfgang Gaissmaier, Harding Center for Risk Literacy
Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 2 (April 2011)
Read Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 2 (April 2011) as a PDF (1.52mb)
No decision about me without me
Policy and campaigning 2011 - the year of change?
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
A question of quality? Raising the Information Standard
Alice Hamilton
Development of the MS Work Toolkit
Gail Townsend, occupational therapist
Abdominal massage to treat constipation in people with multiple sclerosis
Doreen McClurg, Andrea Lowe-Strong, Suzanne Hagen
Using the HeartMath technique to reduce stress in people with MS
Miranda Olding, MS specialist nurse
Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 1 (January 2011)
Read Way Ahead Volume 15 Part 1 (January 2011) as a PDF (1.35mb)
50th issue of Way Ahead - what's changed?
Policy issues for health professionals and people with MS in 2011
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
Emerging oral therapies to treat MS
Dr Alasdair Coles, neurologist
Strategies to improve physiotherapy outcomes in people with MS
Prof Herb Karpatkin, physiotherapist
Prevention is better than cure: mental health in people with MS
Jo Johnson, neuropsychologist
Way Ahead Volume 14 Part 4 (October 2010)
Read Way Ahead Volume 14 Part 4 (October 2010) as a PDF (1.25mb)
NHS white paper - what does it mean for you?
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
Engaging people with MS in decision-making
Sascha Köpke, Christoph Heesen, Institute of Neuroimmunology and Clinical MS Research, Hamburg
Neuromyelitis optica in the UK
Jon Revis, NMO nurse specialist
Way Ahead Volume 14 Part 3 (July 2010)
Read Way Ahead Volume 14 Part 3 (July 2010) as a PDF (1.3mb)
The new coalition: Its implications for people with MS and the health professionals who work with them
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
MS and identity
Dr Louise Woods, Dr Julia Boot, Dr Jane Simpson
Improving vocational support for people with long-term conditions
Dr Andy Tyerman, Community Head Injury Service Buckinghamshire PCT, Gail Townsend, occupational therapist
Local clinical pathway for MS
Susie MacAllister, physiotherapist
Way Ahead Volume 14 Part 2 (April 2010)
European MS Nurse Survey
Vicki Matthews, MS Trust
A vision for the future of MS services
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
Setting up an infusion service
Caroline D'Arcy, MS specialist nurse
Occupational therapy services
Dr Jenny Preston, Lynn Lamont, occupational therapists
A study into the effects of whole body vibration in MS
Françoise Schyns, physiotherapist
Way Ahead Volume 14 Part 1 (January 2010)
NICE publishes guidance on depression
Is the general election relevant to health professionals working in the NHS?
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
How does the Disability Discrimination Act support people with MS?
Aidan Murray Crook, MS Legal Officer
Palliative care in MS
Lucy Sutton, Former Director of Policy Development
Quality of life utility scores
Karen VL Turpin, Sharon A Warren, Kenneth G Warren, University of Alberta
Therapists in MS project updates
Way Ahead Volume 13 Part 4 (September 2009)
MS services and the Risk-sharing Scheme
Neurological commissioning support: 'putting service users at the heart of commissioning'
Sue Thomas, Head of Neurological Commissioning Support
A commissioning pathway for MS specialist services
Vicki Matthews, MS Specialist Nurse Advisor
This one's personal
Brian Belle-Fortune
Fatigue: an overview of causes and management
Helen Rowlands, occupational therapist, Fran Jackson, MS specialist nurse
Way Ahead Volume 13 Part 3 (June 2009)
MS Trust launches StayingSmart
NICE guidance for functional electrical stimulation for dropped foot
Geraldine Mann, consultant physiotherapist
Advanced multiple sclerosis (MS) and family relationship processes
Anna MacLehose, research psychologist, Dr Ceri Bowen, research fellow
Promoting patient-centred care: the development of a communication tool for people with MS
Caroline Pollington, Sarah White, MS specialist nurses
Is leisure a luxury?
Alison Johnson, MS specialist occupational therapist
Way Ahead Volume 13 Part 2 (March 2009)
Government policy 2009 - why clinicians need to take the lead
Nicola Russell, Director of Services, MS Trust
Competencies for MS specialist services
Victoria Matthews, MS Specialist Nurse Advisor, MS Trust
The Recognition Model: a new sexual health model of practice for use by disability teams
Lorna Couldrick. physiotherapist
Lost to follow up: what are the implications?
Dr Yogendrainh Jagatsinh, specialist registrar rehabilitation medicine
Way Ahead Volume 13 Part 1 (January 2009)
MS Trust looks to the future
Nicola Russell, Director of Services, MS Trust
MS nursing: more of the same or maintaining the best?
Vicki Matthews, MS Specialist Nurse Advisor, MS Trust
Investigating safe and effective exercise for people with MS
Dr Johnny Collett
A UK consensus on the management of the bladder in MS
Professor Clare Fowler, consultant urologist
Secondary progressive MS: meeting the challenge of person centred care
Alison Smith, rehabilitation nurse specialist
Men are from Mars: building a group for male relatives of people with MS
Lisa Black, MS specialist nurse, Jo Johnson, consultant neuropsychologist
Way Ahead Volume 12 Part 4 (September 2008)
A commissioning pathway for MS
Psychological support for MS: what does a clinical psychologist contribute to an MS service?
Julia Boot, clinical psychologist, Kerry Mutch, MS specialist nurse, Mike Boggild, consultant neurologist
Imaging brain plasticity in multiple sclerosis
Valentina Tomassini
Sexual expression, physical disability and professional practice
Lorna Couldrick, physiotherapist
The outcome measure minefield
Derik Laidler, senior lecturer
Way Ahead Volume 12 Part 3 (June 2008)
The effect of Pilates classes on balance and well-being in people with multiple sclerosis: a pilot study
Lucia White, clinical specialist physiotherapist, Dr Margaret Mayston, Senior Teaching Fellow
Management of diplopia in MS
Val Trimble, MS specialist orthoptist
Developing an information resource: an update on the Leeds initiative
Rhona MacLean, lecturer-practitioner in MS, Tracy Sharp, MS specialist nurse
MS Trust: past and future!
Chris Jones, MS Trust
Way Ahead Volume 12 Part 2 (April 2008)
Prescribing assistive devices to people with MS: how do the views of patients and professionals compare?
Dr Brian Buckley, National University of Ireland, Galway
The sexual experience: the lived experience of women whose partners have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Shaniff Esmail, Meghan Leakey, Jane Huang, University of Alberta
Working with MS: experiences of people with MS and professionals
Gail Townsend, research occupational therapist
Way Ahead Volume 12 Part 1 (January 2008)
Conference report: Change is one thing, progress is another
The contribution of complementary and alternative medicine on symptoms and quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis
Fiona Tait, MS specialist nurse
Psychosocial interventions in people with multiple sclerosis: a review
Kathryn Malcomson, Lynn Dunwoody and Andrea Lowe-Strong, University of Ulster
The sexual experience: the lived experience of men who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Shaniff Esmail, Meghan Leakey, Jane Huang, University of Alberta
Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 4 (October 2007)
The sexual experience: revelations from men whose partners have multiple sclerosis
Shaniff Esmail, associate professor, Meghan Leakey
Night-time postural support for people with multiple sclerosis
Pauline Pope, consultant physiotherapist
Managing MS patients: assessing the case for the district nurse
Cherie Weightman, lecturer in Adult Nursing
Mind matters: study day report
Gail Townsend, Research OT
CMSC 21st Annual Meeting report
Elizabeth Disney, MS nurse specialist
Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 3 (June2007)
Developing a business case to improve services for people with MS
Sarah Rollinson, senior strategic planning manager
An inter-disciplinary private rehabilitation provider
Helen Hobbs, clinical specialist physiotherapist in neurological rehabilitation
The sexual experience: revelations from women with multiple sclerosis
Shaniff Esmail, associate professor of occupational therapy
Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 2 (April 2007)
A team approach to evaluating the need for assistive technology reduces equipment abandonment
R Verza, occupational therapist, M Messmer Uccelli, Italian MS Society
The importance of choosing an appropriate data collection method in research into stigmatised or embarrassing symptoms
Brian Buckley, researcher in primary care
Group therapy to improve communicative participation in people with multiple sclerosis and dysarthria
Clare Laing, speech and language therapist
Skills development programmes for MS specialist nurses
Vicki Gutteridge, MS Trust
Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 1 (January 2007)
The European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ECTRIMS)
Nicola Russell, MS Trust
Exploring the relationship between people with MS and their confidants
J Springham, post-graduate research student, H Skirton, University of Plymouth, JA Freeman, Institute of Neurology, London
Working with children and adolescents with MS in the US
Maria Milazzo, nurse practitioner
Health and Social Care Pathway for people with multiple sclerosis living in West Berkshire
Annette Leach, MS nurse specialist, Ros Edwards, MS specialist occupational therapist
10 years of making a difference
report on the MS Trust's Tenth Annual Conference
Way Ahead Volume 10 Part 4 (October 2006)
Improving MS services: more still to be done
Lycra orthoses and their use in MS
Liz Betts, physiotherapist
Engaging patient groups in the debate on stem cell research
Sandrine Soubes, Centre for Stem Cell Biology, Sheffield
Interferential therapy: could it be more effective than TENS in the management of MS-related symptoms?
Gareth Noble, lecturer
Exercise literature review
TiMS research group
Way Ahead Volume 10 Part 3 (July 2006)
Support for MS specialist posts
'Moving on': the transition to living well with chronic illness
Debbie Kralik, senior research fellow
To boldly go: MS therapy services for the 21st Century
Christine Singleton, physiotherapist
Community based exercise for individuals with MS
Cindy Davis, physiotherapist
Relapse management in multiple sclerosis
Alan Izat, Nicola MacLeod, Debbie McCallion, Norma McIndoe, MS specialist nurses
Way Ahead Volume 10 Part 2 (April 2006)
Is education good for your health?
Christopher D Ward, professor of rehabilitation medicine
MS nursing: the first six months in post
Hazel Daniel, MS specialist nurse
21st century health care; what the future holds
Emily Harrison, MS clinical nurse specialist
Way Ahead Volume 10 Part 1 (January 2006)
MS in the family: breaking the silence for young people when multiple sclerosis enters the family
Kerry Mutch, MS specialist nurse
NICE guidelines: implementing the NICE Guideline on the management of MS
Nikki Embrey, MS specialist nurse
Multiple Sclerosis Pathway at UCE
Illuminating the Way Ahead: working together to improve MS care
report on the MS Trust's Ninth Annual Conference
Way Ahead Volume 9 Part 3/4 (October 2005)
The development of newly diagnosed information groups in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham
Fiona Barnes, MS specialist nurse
MS nursing in Rotterdam
Carolien van 't Hoff, neurology nurse specialist
Augmentative and alternative communication: barriers to introducing AAC to MS clients
Beth Spicer-Freeman, speech and language therapist
Way Ahead Volume 9 Part 2 (July 2005)
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
Amanda Howarth, lecturer, The University of Sheffield
Stand and deliver: how an Oswestry standing frame helped restore sitting balance and improve function in an individual with secondary progressive MS
Wendy Hendrie, clinical specialist physiotherapist
The North West regional link interest group
Fiona Lynch, MS specialist nurse
Ethics Committee approval and how to survive it!
Gail Townsend, research occupational therapist
Presenting a poster at the MS Trust Conference: a personal perspective
Gail Griffiths, clinical specialist physiotherapist
Way Ahead Volume 9 Part 1 (April 2005)
Change the policy: change the practice!
PEG feeding in MS
Christine Collin, consultant in Neurological Rehabilitation Medicine; Rachel Botell, specialist registrar in Neurological Rehabilitation Medicine
The UK Multiple Sclerosis Tissue Bank
Dr Abhi Vora, Manager, The UK Multiple Sclerosis Tissue Bank
Issues around pain in MS
Kathryn Johnson Hoffman, research psychologist
Way Ahead Volume 8 Part 4 (January 2005)
What drives Quality of Life in MS?
A 'Mums and Tots' group with a difference: an MS specific support group
MF Jackson, MS specialist nurse
MS Trust/ MS Society Care staff course
Emma Tatnall, care assistant
Way Ahead Volume 8 Part 3 (October 2004)
New decision aid website for patients considering disease-modifying drugs
Geraldine Mynors, Medicines Partnership; Dr Duncan Short, Keele University
Hospice based community specialist neurology support service
Janet Johnson, neurology support nurse
Maintaining the momentum: developing a self-management group for people with multiple sclerosis
Susan Stutely, MS & MND nurse specialist; Margaret Hewett, clinical specialist physiotherapist; Pat Wheeler, senior occupational therapist
Way Ahead Volume 8 Part 2 (July 2004)
From guidelines to practice: getting started
Bernadette Porter, MS nurse consultant
Practical management of cognitive impairments associated with MS
Patrick Carroll, clinical specialist occupational therapist
Aerobic exercise for people with multiple sclerosis
Joanna Kileff, senior physiotherapist
Disability assessment in multiple sclerosis
L Nicholl, JC Hobart, L Dunwoody, AFL Cramp, AS Lowe-Strong
Way Ahead Volume 8 Part 1 (April 2004)
Working with MS from both sides of the fence
Alison J Dunsmore, senior radiographer
The oral health of people with multiple sclerosis
Wendy Baird, Dept of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Leicester
Bladder dysfunction and multiple sclerosis: a novel approach
Doreen McClurg, Robin Ashe, Kaye Marshall, Andrea Lowe-Strong
Way Ahead Volume 7 Part 4 (January 2003)
The use of a driving audit to assist service planning
Michelle Ennis, MS Team occupational therapist
The role of the specialist physiotherapist in the management of spasticity
Louise Lockley, clinical specialist physiotherapist
Pressure ulcer risk in seated persons: report on a study to evaluate factors for inclusion in a new self-administered risk assessment tool
Jenny Wall, senior lecturer
Way Ahead Volume 7 Part 3 (October 2003)
Going down under
Vicki Gutteridge, MS specialist nurse
Way Ahead Volume 7 Part 2 (July 2003)
The immunology of multiple sclerosis
Alasdair Coles, neurologist
'What does it all mean for the health professional at the coalface?'
Steven Bloch, lecturer/clinical tutor, Human Communication Science
The early introduction to alternative methods of feeding including percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)
Rachael Marsden, MND Care Centre coordinator
Way Ahead Volume 7 Part 1 (April 2003)
Multiple sclerosis in black Caribbean patients born in the UK: Is it the same illness or different to that seen in a similar white population?
Pauline Shaw, MS specialist nurse
Abnormal mental states in multiple sclerosis
Hugh Rickards, consultant in neuropsychiatry
The management of indwelling catheters for people with multiple sclerosis using bladder irrigation
Pauline Howard, continence advisor
Way Ahead Volume 6 Part 4 (January 2003)
Beta interferon therapy in multiple sclerosis: an audit of patients in North Staffordshire Hospital Trust
Nikki Embrey, MS specialist nurse
Quality of life and people with MS: patients' and proxies' ratings
Elina Tripoliti, speech & language therapist
Functional Electrical Stimulation in MS
Department of Medical Physics, Salisbury District Hospital
Way Ahead Volume 6 Part 3 (October 2002)
A randomised controlled trial comparing rehabilitation against standard therapy in multiple sclerosis patients receiving intravenous steroid treatment
Jenny Craig, physiotherapist
Group therapy for people with multiple sclerosis improves compliance with home exercise programme
Sonia Somers, senior physiotherapist
Way Ahead Volume 6 Part 2 (June 2002)
Patient-centred outcome measures
Afsane Riazi
Generalists and specialists: identifying roles within interdisciplinary teams
Fiona M Shield, project director, Institute of General Practice & Primary Care
The role of an orthoptist in an MS multidisciplinary team - a personal view
Val Trimble, orthopist
Way Ahead Volume 6 Part 1 (March 2002)
Does early treatment of multiple sclerosis prevent the progression of disability later on?
Alasdair Coles, neurologist, Amanda Cox, research fellow
Audit into the effectiveness of gabapentin in multiple sclerosis pain
Nikki Embrey, MS specialist nurse, Claire Lowndes, MS specialist nurse
Carer stress scales: are they valid for the caregivers of younger disabled people?
Liz Hatch, Gail Hayes, Carol Griffith, John Burn, Roger Baker
Way Ahead Volume 5 Part 4 (December 2001)
Challenging assumptions of care
Lynda Hind, neurological nurse specialist
Addressing the dying issue
Gail Hayes, MS specialist nurse
Way Ahead Volume 5 Part 3 (September 2001)
Premenstrual worsening of MS symptoms
Sally Wilson, MS research co-ordinator
Homoeopathy and multiple sclerosis
Tom Whitmarsh, Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital
Way Ahead Volume 5 Part 2 (June 2001)
Taking Control - a pack to facilitate teaching people newly diagnosed With MS
Megan Burgess, Melissa Brechin, Jill Dunk, Nikki Embrey, Fiona Lynch, Julie O'Sullivan
Classifying disability: does it make a difference?
Steven Bloch, speech & language therapist
Way Ahead Volume 5 Part 1 (March 2001)
Providing neurorehabilitation services to people with MS
D Thomas, L Jarrett, B Porter, C Jewell, A Holland, L Turkington, ED Playford
Personal views of rehabilitation
Two users of rehabilitation services
Way Ahead Volume 4 Part 4 (November 2000)
Physiotherapy for people with MS
Liz Betts, senior physiotherapist
Personal exercise training for people with MS: a case study
Michael Hills, sport and exercise science consultant
Way Ahead Volume 4 Part 3 (August 2000)
Stress management through meditation
Steve Brisk, counsellor
Acupuncture and MS: practical applications
Jill Brookes, acupuncturist
Way Ahead Volume 4 Part 2 (June 2000)
The Role of the UK Multiple Sclerosis Tissue Bank
Dr Abhi Vora, manager of the UK MS Tissue Bank
Acupuncture and MS: theory and practice
Jill Brookes, acupuncturist
Way Ahead Volume 4 Part 1 (March 2000)
Pain in multiple sclerosis
Amanda Howarth, clinical nurse specialist - pain management
Maintaining mobility - a physio perspective
Sally Atkinson, senior physiotherapist
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Quarterly MS Research Update
The printed version of Way Ahead comes with a digest of selected articles published in peer reviewed journals over the last quarter.