What is NeuroResponse?

blue quotation nark opened  I’ve had four or five urine tests done through NeuroResponse. They would all have involved a trip to the GP surgery, dropping off the sample, having a call with the GP. I would have gone to the GP each of those times, so it’s averted those each of those times.  blue quotation nark closed  NeuroResponse user

NeuroResponse enhances quality of life for people with neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by redesigning care and treatment pathways.
Living with MS increases the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can account for emergency presentations to out of hours clinics, Emergency Departments (EDs) and GP surgeries – as well as long waiting times for clinical support – all of which can severely impact on the lives of people living with MS.1,2 
NeuroResponse is a service which enables people with MS to have free, quick, and easy 24/7 access to clinicians to aid the early detection of UTIs, reducing the need to see health professionals face to face and helping to obtain medications such as antibiotics for issues such as urinary infections.
Timely and responsive, NeuroResponse can help prevent emergency admissions and complement specialist care, to ensure people living with MS can access more personalised care when they need it most, while avoiding GP appointments, hospital attendances and admissions and improving the care pathway.

Take a look at our video which tells you more about the NeuroResponse journey. We have started in a few areas and hope to work with the NHS to scale across the UK. To find out more about whether we are in your area yet or if you are eligible to access NeuroResponse, please click here.

Why was NeuroResponse developed?

NeuroResponse was developed following an independent audit in 2014 which revealed that UTIs were a leading cause of unplanned hospital admissions among people with MS, causing negative impacts on people’s health and wellbeing, as well as significant cost implications for the NHS. NeuroResponse has been developed collaboratively with people and families living with MS, health professionals and partners to enable easy sign up and access to free 24/7 access to clinicians to aid the early detection of UTIs.

NeuroResponse
aims to:

Provide access to expert advice day and night.

winged time

Shorten waiting time for assessment of new MS symptoms.

medical records

Make urinary infection analysis and treatment faster and easier.

monitor

Create a secure system to share information.

What does NeuroResponse provide for people with MS?

Once signed up to NeuroResponse, all personal information is safely and securely captured. People will then receive personalised QR-coded urine testing kits from our partner, The Doctor’s Laboratory.
‘As th service is linked to Mastercall Healthcare, if you ring 111 to report a UTI, your telephone number will be recognised, and you will be put straight through to a healthcare professional trained in MS for assessment and advice.
With your sample ready at home, NHS 111 will dispatch a courier to your home to collect it and take it to the laboratory to be fast tracked for analysis. Within 24 hours, you will know if there are signs of infection and within 48 hours you will know the exact antibiotics that would work for you. The NHS 111 health team will call you to discuss your results and they can also electronically send a prescription to your local pharmacy so you can start treatment and quickly. And, because we care, we will call you again a few days later to make sure the antibiotics are working ok and help you further if needs be including linking to neurology specialists or community teams as needs be. Finally, unless you ask us not to, we can share information with your GP, so they are up to date with your symptoms and treatment plans.

NeuroResponse offers:

out of hours

Personalised electronic care (E-care) plan and 24/7 access to specialist advice.

protective shield

Resources to support symptom management including home testing kits and lab courier service to speed up diagnosis and treatment.

secure data

Secure data: With your consent all your information is stored safely in one place and will only be shared by people involved in your care.

young man sitting on the floor with mobile phone

NeuroResponse has been designed to enable:

Earlier detection and reduced
time to treat

Appropriate antibiotic use

Reduction in unplanned admissions resulting in more time at home

What are the benefits of signing up to NeuroResponse?

blue quotation nark opened  I think it’s really important that people with MS are able to have access to medical advice about specific symptoms and episodes on a timely basis. Now maybe NeuroResponse is well placed to provide this because you can phone up and ask about it.  blue quotation nark closed   Person with MS

Living with MS increases the risk of UTIs, which account for many avoidable presentations to busy EDs, out of hours clinics and GP surgeries. With fragmented commissioning arrangements for people living with neurological conditions, there can often be a lack of responsibility for the MS care pathway. NeuroResponse blends technology and clinical expertise to redesign this pathway and improve quality of life for people with MS.
Signing up with NeuroResponse has many positive impacts on health for people living with MS and other neurological conditions – empowering them to self-manage their condition, while giving people reassurance and reducing anxiety about care.
NeuroResponse is shown to reduce stress, increase peace of mind and increase confidence for people with MS and their families. The 2019 study commissioned by the MS Society in 2019 ‘Innovative Models of Care: Evaluation of NeuroResponse,’ demonstrates evidence on the accessibility, quality, and speed of the NeuroResponse service, as well as positive health impacts for people with MS.

The same study showed how NeuroResponse provides the following benefits:

  • Reducing the use of GP and emergency hospital services for people with MS
  • Reduced demand on other services
  • Enabled fewer and shorter hospital admissions
  • Reduced demand on GPs

Who can access NeuroResponse?

man sitting in waiting room
NeuroResponse has been designed with people and families living with MS to enable easy sign up and access to free 24/7 advice for urinary tract infections and is working closely with North Central London (NCL) to roll the service out across North and Central London in collaboration with the UK MS Society.
People with MS in the boroughs of Camden, Haringey, Enfield and Islington are welcome to contact and speak to our Engagement Officers to learn more about the service and decide if they would like to sign up if deemed eligible.
Founded and run by Bernadette Porter MBE – who has worked within neurology care for over 25 years – NeuroResponse has a team of in-house clinical and patient experts who help deliver compassionate, person -centred and expert care for people living with neurological conditions.
Delivered under robust clinical, IT and financial governance frameworks as part of the NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellowship programme, NeuroResponse is a not-for-profit social enterprise organisation which works with expert technology and healthcare provider partners.

New NeUro App Pathway

What is the NeUro App Pathway?

In April 2023 we launched NeUro App as a pilot to a selected group of people across North Central London who have MS, Dementia and Parkinsons Disease. We work with NHS and other health charities and companies to deliver this programme. We also have several advisory boards that advise on science, ethics, diversity and inclusion.

Following the successful pilot, the NeUro App will be live across North Central London for this select group of people to use when they have a suspected urine infection.

Who has reviewed and approved NeUro App programme?

The NeUro App has been reviewed and approved by NHSE and SBRI panels. The service is compliant with the NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC), the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit, registered with MHRA as a Class 1 Medical Device, and complies with the necessary safety, privacy and accessibility guidelines and policies.

What about our funding?

The NeUro App has been funded by the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), charity partners and North Central London ICB.

What will happen to the findings from the programme?

Discoveries made from the NeUro App programme will be shared with stakeholders and where appropriate published in scientific papers and made available online. Identities or any personal details will be kept confidential.

References:

1. NeuroResponse data on file. 2014.

2. Data sourced from Vantage, by Health iQ. Secondary care data is taken from the English Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) database produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (NHS Digital, https://content.digital.nhs.uk/hes). Copyright 2017. See https://www.healthiq.co.uk/information-governance for further information.