By Deborah Condon

Neurological services exist only in Dublin, Cork and Galway, leaving thousands of people in other parts of the country with no access to a consultant neurologist, the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) has said.

Neurological conditions include all types of dementia, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, brain injuries, muscular dystrophy and migraine. An estimated 500,000 people in Ireland are affected and this figure is increasing due to an ageing population.

The NAI, an umbrella group made up of 22 neurological charities, has just launched a new website, which highlights the lack of adequate neurological services in Ireland.

"There are no neurologists in the north west, mid west and south east. This means that a large number of people may have to travel for hours to see a neurologist. However they may not even see their consultant because they are too ill to travel", the NAI said.

Neurology is the study of conditions affecting the nervous system

It has identified six action points, which if implemented, will help those affected by neurological conditions. They are:

1.    An increase in the number of consultant neurologists.

2.    The commissioning of a review on neurorehabilitation.

3.    Accurate statistics on the incidence of those affected by neurological conditions.

4.    Multidisciplinary teams of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists, to meet the needs of those affected.

5.    The development of a national framework of neurology services

6.    The appointment of 20 disease specific clinical nurse specialists.

"The appointment of clinical nurse specialists would result in an immediate improvement in the quality of life of this long neglected group in the Irish health service", said NAI chairperson, Audrey Craven.

The NAI's website can be viewed at…http://www.nai.ie

Meanwhile the Migraine Association of Ireland, which is one of the members of the NAI, has just launched a website for health professionals dedicated to migraine and other primary headache disorders.

According to the association, this resource will provide doctors with the most up-to-date information available on migraine, which in turn will contribute to patients receiving the best care possible.

"Migraine can be a difficult condition to diagnose and treat successfully in some patients because of the wide variability that can exist in terms of clinical presentation and response to drug treatment. Having an easy to use resource at your fingertips offers the GP a valuable tool to assist in the day to day management of primary headache disorders", explained Dr Edward O'Sullivan, a GP and director of the headache/migraine clinic at Cork University Hospital.

This website will form part of the association's site at…http://www.migraine.ie