MS Awareness Week 2025: conversations and collaboration

MS Awareness Week (28th April - 4th May) is all about starting conversations. This year’s theme ‘MS Conversations’ encourages open dialogue, sharing stories and learning from each other when it comes to improving the lives of people with MS. We know that meaningful conversations lead to better care. Whether it’s between a healthcare professional (HCP) and a person with MS, between healthcare services and the voluntary sector, or between everyone involved in a person's care as part of a case conference, working together is how we move forward. This week is a chance to spotlight those collaborations and say thank you to the people and organisations making them happen.

At MS Academy, collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. We work closely with healthcare professionals, multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), researchers and the voluntary sector to build better, more connected MS services. Charities are a vital part of this system – they listen, support, campaign, fund, educate and advocate. They’re a lifeline for many people affected by MS, and they bring lived experience and insight that can meaningfully shape how we deliver care.

Thank you to our charity partners and endorsers

This MS Awareness Week, we want to celebrate those partnerships and the power of collaboration and conversations. We’re proud to work with many outstanding MS charities who support, endorse and contribute to our education. These partnerships are important to our programmes and ensure our content stays grounded in real-life challenges and lived experience.

There are many brilliant charities doing essential work across the UK. We’d like to highlight just a few we’ve collaborated with recently:

• MS Society – The MS Society has endorsed our education for many years and we’re grateful for their continued support. They also offer a range of excellent training opportunities for HCPs. Take a look at their FACETS facilitator training, an online programme focused on fatigue management, or join their upcoming webinar on 12th June to deepen your understanding of mental health support and neuropsychological rehabilitation in MS care.
  

• MS Together – A new charity supporting young adults living with MS. We recently joined their 130K for the 130K fundraiser, representing the number of people in the UK living with MS (2024). Our head of nursing Ruth Stross, is also a trustee for the charity and has had the opportunity to educate healthcare professionals on the needs for young people with MS and through hybrid talks into the workplace. The charity provides a counselling service to support mind health. The MS Register has highlighted a higher prevalence of psychological impact in young people following diagnosis.
  

• MS-UK – On 22nd May, we’re hosting a webinar in partnership with MS-UK and the Royal College of Nursing Neuroscience Forum, aimed specifically at nurses. Over the past 30 years, MS care has changed dramatically, and so has the role of the nurse. This session will focus on the evolution of DMTs, best practice in relapse and symptom management, and empowering patient engagement. It’s designed for all nurses, whether you specialise in neurology, work in a hospital, care home, or community setting. Sign up here.
  
  

• OvercomingMS - “Overcoming MS endorses MS Academy and works collaboratively with healthcare professionals at both a national and local level because we share priorities and have different skills and resources. This MS Awareness Week is all about conversations and a big part of optimising support for people with MS comes down to people talking to each other, finding shared goals and working together. By working together, we can support more people in a better way so every individual can self-manage confidently and effectively” - Charlie Peel, healthcare partnerships lead, Overcoming MS
  
  

• Shift.ms - A global charity that supports recently diagnosed people as they make sense of MS. The ‘Buddy Network’ is recommended by clinicians for one-to-one support post diagnosis. Our head of nursing Ruth Stross recently spoke at a symposium with Victoria Kirk, head of growth and engagement, about the importance of connections and harnessing peer support.
  
  

• Therapists in MS (TiMS) - Jody Barber, MS highly specialist neurophysiotherapist, and co-chair for TiMS also spoke on this symposium about the importance of clinician conversations and connections to prevent duplication and ensure follow-up care is relevant to help prevent deconditioning and support self-management.

There are so many other great charities across the UK supporting people affected by neurological conditions. They play a key role in service delivery, education, research and advocacy. Their work complements the NHS and helps create more comprehensive care.

Patient-centred innovation: 'My MS Agenda' and agenda setting

One of the most powerful tools in improving MS care is also one of the simplest: a conversation. More specifically: a structured, collaborative conversation. At ECTRIMS last year, a session on agenda setting in MS clinic appointments sparked enthusiastic discussion. Presented by Ruth Stross, Dr Kate Petheram, and Dr Ghaniah Hassan-Smith, and supported by delegates including Rachel Dorsey-Campbell, Dr Bindu Yoga, and Dr Andrea Stennett, the session explored how aligning patient and clinician priorities can improve consultations and outcomes. The concept is already widely used in psychology: creating a shared agenda at the start of a visit to focus the conversation. It helps reduce “door handle” moments (when a major concern only surfaces at the end of the consultation) and improves both communication and time management.

As part of the MS Leaders Academy, this idea became a practical tool: My MS Agenda. It’s a simple pre-consultation form shared with patients to identify what matters most to them and shape the structure of the appointment. The goal was to bring care closer to home, make it more equitable, and create a truly patient-centred model that supports self-management and shared decision-making.

Education with impact

MS Awareness Week is also a great opportunity to thank all the incredible HCPs working to improve care for people with MS. Across the UK, we see HCPs and MDTs going above and beyond, innovating, trialling new models, and pushing for more equitable access to treatment and support.

We’re proud to share our latest ‘education with impact’ reports, showcasing the inspiring workplace projects from our Foundation and Advanced MasterClasses 2024. Each project tackled a real-world challenge in MS care, from speeding up access to early treatment, to improving patient education, to building more efficient pathways. They’re practical, scalable solutions built by HCPs who understand the system from the inside, and who want to make it better.

This MS Awareness Week, we’re reminded that better care comes from better conversations and that collaboration is key to progress. To all the HCPs, charities, and people living with MS who share their knowledge, time and experience: you are helping to shape a future where MS care is more connected, compassionate and effective.