Neurologists call for resourcing to keep pace with advancements

Neurologists have called for the allocation of greater resources to keep pace with the advancements in their specialty. 

They were speaking at the Irish Neurological Association’s Annual Neurology Update Meeting on 7 October in Dublin. 

Consultant Neurologist at Cork University Hospital Dr Brian Sweeney spoke to the Medical Independent (MI) about how diagnoses have changed as disease specification has narrowed, allowing for more precise treatment. 

The main challenge was ensuring the appropriate resourcing and staffing to implement therapies and technologies, he indicated. 

Referencing the benefits of deep brain stimulation, for example, he noted that the procedure required a multidisciplinary team involving neurosurgery, neuropsychology, physiotherapy, and radiography. “What we can do is awesome, but it requires time and accuracy,” he said. 

Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Prof Norman Delanty, told MI: “Things are getting more complex… we need more resources. We need more neurologists and we need the national genetic strategy to be [developed and] implemented.” 

Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital Dr Eavan McGovern said the presentations at the meeting showed the advancements in precision-based therapies and technologies. “It is becoming more complex within each subspecialty,” she told MI. “[But] in spite of all that development, at the root of it is clinical semiology. We still have to develop and be good at the basics to open the gate to all those technologies.”