When Pippa Dungey went to her doctor last year who was anesthetized in her both legs, she was told that she was confronted with a 10 -month waiting list for specialized neurology services.
Two months later, the 25-year-old trainee lawyer from Southeast London ended up in A&E unable to walk.
Mrs Dungey went to her doctor for the first time in September last year and was referred to a neurologist, but warned to wait a long time for an appointment.
While she was waiting, her symptoms deteriorated, and eventually they became so bad that she could not lift her right leg and forced to drag it around.
Pippa Dungey, 25, London was unable to walk on an NHS appointment after months. (MS Society)
She sought help from A&E and her doctor, but was rejected and told that she should wait for her neurology appointment.
But in the end she was forced to go back to A&E, where she was admitted for a week and could not walk and was later diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
There are around 150,000 people with MS, a condition that influences the nerves in the brain and the spinal agreement. It can influence people in different ways, including the influence of vision, balance, memory and emotions.
Mrs Dungey said: “By November I was really worried. I could not lift my right leg and just dragged it around, which was really scary. I felt that I was hung up to dry and did not know who I had to turn. Everyone told me that they could not do anything. I even tried to go out every way and did not know what to do.
“I then had an emergency appointment with my doctor, and she referred me again to A&E. Fortunately the doctor admitted me and I was finally diagnosed [with MS] But I did not allow a week to walk in the hospital because I could not get a neurology appointment. “
Mrs Dungey was one of the hundreds of thousands of people waiting for NHS Neurology Services – of which 6,175 have been waiting for more than a year.
Charity The MS Society has warned that people with MS waited an average of five months for their first neurology appointment in 2023-24, an increase of 65 percent compared to the average waiting time in 2019-2020.
The charity has warned that MS patients who have been left are at risk of “irreversible disability” and has said that the government has overlooked neurological disorders so far in its 10 -year plan.
Since she was fired from A&E, Mrs. Dungey said that she is still busy getting her ability to walk back.
According to a study by the MS Society of 600 patients in England, one in seven had an unplanned hospitalization that could have been prevented. It warned that almost one in five more than 20 miles should travel for hospital agreements.
Peter Lloyd, policy manager at the MS Society, said: “This report paints a sobering picture of hospital care for people with MS – the consequences of which can be enormous.
“Neurologists and MS nurses are confronted with an enormous tension, and there are simply not enough to keep track of the increasing demand. This means that people wait longer and longer for essential support such as an initial diagnosis or planned care – activating emergencies further down in the line.
“The NHS 10 -year plan is intended to tackle some of these issues, which is encouraging. But it is worrying that there is still no specific plan for those in the six people in England who live with a neurological state. That is why we call for a dedicated national plan for neurology, so that people with MS and other conditions can receive the care without delay.”
The Department for Health and Social Care was approached for comment.
