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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 14 Part 3 (July 2010)

Research news
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)

Research news
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)

Research news
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
MS Trust conference report

Way Ahead Volume 13 Part 4 (September 2009)

Research news
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
MS Trust expands the map of MS services

Way Ahead Volume 13 Part 3 (June 2009)

Research news
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)

Research news
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
In the news
Research news
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
Conference report
Information news

Way Ahead Volume 12 Part 4 (September 2008)

Policy and campaigning update
Research news
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
MS Trust Annual Conference
Information news

Way Ahead Volume 12 Part 3 (June 2008)

Policy and campaigning update
Research news
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)

Policy and campaigning update
Research news
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)

Policy update
In the news
Research news
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)

Policy update
In the news
Move it for MS!
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
At work with MS: managing life and work

Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 3 (June2007)

Policy update
In the news
Research news
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
Professional education
Information team news

Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 2 (April 2007)

Policy update
In the news
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
Clinical trial updates

Way Ahead Volume 11 Part 1 (January 2007)

Policy and campaigning news
In the news
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
The value of information
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
Policy and campaigning news
Research news
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
New from the MS Trust

Way Ahead Volume 10 Part 3 (July 2006)

Support for MS specialist posts
In the news
'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
New White Paper for primary care in the NHS in England

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
Action on Neurology
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
A pilot evaluation of an interactive website for people with multiple sclerosis: the participants' perspective: Jill Fyfe

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