MS and COVID – MSBarts survey of people with MS

The way we conduct healthcare appointments has changed drastically in the past six months since Britain entered coronavirus lockdown. Remote appointments, shared-monitoring across professionals and those living with long-term conditions, and self-monitoring or treatment are all becoming the norm. However, it has been a fast transition for all, under forced circumstances.

It is essential that we capture feedback from those with MS on what we have done well, what we could do better, and what has not worked at all. Of course, this will be different from individual to individual, and to really get a true understanding of how people have experienced the changes to date, we need to hear from as many people as possible.

The authors behind the BartsMS blog, led by Professor Gavin Giovannoni, launched a survey in June, asking people to share their experiences of their most recent appointments.

Of the 102 respondents we have had so far, 86 were from the UK. After removing the duplicate entries and those who had not had an appointment during the three months of UK lockdown, the viable sample was just 50 people.

In order to shape future services in line with what works best for both professionals and those with MS, it is essential that we do so informed by the experiences of both.

Please can you share the link to this survey with everyone with MS that you see in a consultation over the coming months, whether telephone or video, face to face, so that we can get a true picture of people's experiences and create the best possible services going forward.

bit.ly/BartsMS-survey