On 13 September 2012 the European Parliament adopted the Written Declaration on tackling Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Europe. The Declaration was put forward by the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform’s (EMSP). 11 of the 12 Irish MEP’s signed the declaration, showing their overwhelming support for better standards of care for people with MS across Europe.
The Declaration calls for action at both a European and a national level. At a European level, the Declaration calls the European Commission and Council to:
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encourage closer scientific collaboration and comparative research on MS, within the framework of Horizon 2020 (the European research funding programme)
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promote, in their Reflection Process on Chronic Disease, equal access to treatment and flexible employment policies for people with chronic neurological disorders such as MS
At a national level, the Declaration calls on member states to:
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enhance equal access to quality care, for example. by using certified educational training tools (such as ‘MS Nurse Professional’) to develop, standardise and benchmark specialist nursing staff training
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support the European Register for MS by encouraging patient data collection at national level
MS Ireland is delighted to report that Ireland is making moves in both national areas. We are currently meeting Irish MS nurses to look at ways to adopt the MS Nurse Professional programme and we are involved with the HSE’s Clinical programme in Neurology which is focusing on MS as a key condition.
MS Ireland would like to thank all of the Irish MEPs who signed the declaration and showed their support to people with MS: Liam Aylward, Nessa Childers, Emer Costello, Brian Crowley, Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher, Marian Harkin, Sean Kelly, Mairead McGuinness, Gay Mitchell, Paul Murphy, Phil Prendergast.