A lack of community neurorehabilitation teams nationwide is having a profoundly negative effect on patients, as well as putting major pressure on the healthcare system, the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) has warned.

It is calling for funding to be allocated in Budget 2024 to establish these teams in three community healthcare organisation (CHO) areas where no funding has been made available to date.

It is also calling on the HSE to prioritise the establishment of teams in CHOs where funding has been made available. Of the nine CHOs nationwide, just two have been allocated funding and have a community neurorehabilitation team up and running.

Neurological conditions affect the brain and spinal cord. They are the leading cause of disability worldwide and include many common conditions such as stroke, dementia, migraine, epilepsy and acquired brain injury, as well as rare and genetic conditions.

These teams provide short-term intensive rehabilitation, including access to multidisciplinary services such as physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, social work and neuropsychology.

According to NAI executive director, Magdalen Rogers, when people with neurological conditions do not have access to these services, it leads to “a significant and preventable level of disability”.

“As a result of this, there is increased pressure on our already overburdened healthcare system. This lack of access also results in increased costs to the health service through earlier admission to nursing homes, increased need for home care supports, as well as the increased likelihood of falls and subsequent hospital readmissions,” she noted.

She said that demand for these services was already high before the Covid pandemic, but is now at “critical” levels due to the combined needs of those who were discharged early and missed out on neurorehabilitation, those impacted by the curtailment or closure of services due to lockdown and those requiring rehabilitation after contracting the virus.

“The lack of neurorehabilitation teams in the community is also exacerbating the problem of delayed discharges, further limiting access to inpatient neurorehabilitation in facilities such as the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

“From having the national network of community neurorehabilitation teams in place, up to 42,000 hospital bed days annually could be freed up, based on an average saving of three hospital bed days per neurological patient, if they can be discharged to a community neurorehabilitation team,” Ms Rogers explained.

The NAI is made up of 30 non-profit organisations who advocate for the rights of 800,000 people living with neurological conditions in Ireland. It highlighted this issue as part of a presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health on May 17.