Motor Neurone disease care

Motor Neurone disease care

The term Motor Neurone Disease (MND) covers several similar degenerative diseases that attack the body’s upper and lower motor neurones, leading to weakness and wasting of the muscles. Gradually, sufferers lose mobility and have difficulty with speech, swallowing and breathing. Motor Neurone Disease tends not to affect intellectual ability (although rarer forms may involve dementia) and for the vast majority of patients, touch, taste, sight, smell or hearing are not affected either.

Occasionally Motor Neurone Disease is inherited, but most cases develop spontaneously. The average age for its onset is about 50. First symptoms may include fumbling over everyday tasks, problems with walking or climbing stairs, and muscle twitches or spasms. Later on, walking, talking and eating get increasingly difficult and patients will need help to breathe.

At Badby Park's Meadows Care Centre, a specialist multi-disciplinary team offers the highest standards of care for MND which aim to maintain a patient’s quality of life for as long as possible. The team – including neurologists, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, and counsellors – will put together a personalized care plan in close consultation with patients, families and carers, which is regularly reviewed. Patients also have access to state of the art technology to help them communicate and promote maximum mobility . The Centre provides an ideal environment for indoor and outdoor therapy, including a beautiful sensory garden.