Support for You

What is a Neurological Condition?

A neurological condition is a long-term condition which results from the disease of, injury or damage to, the body's nervous system (i.e. the brain, spinal cord and or their peripheral nerves). It will affect the individual and their family in one way or another for the rest of their life'. Neurological disorders are very common, accounting for about one in ten general practitioner consultations. They affect the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and muscles. They include many different conditions of varying severity, some very common and others exceedingly rare, from migraine, to motor neurone disease. Despite considerable advances in investigations, diagnosis still relies on almost entirely on history and examination, both of which require training, practice and experience to interpret and perfect.

Neurological conditions include:

• Intermittent disorders, such as epilepsy, migraine and other headache problems;
• Progressive long-term condition, such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis (MS) and dementia;
• Life-threatening acute conditions, such as stroke, meningitis, encephalitis, status epilepticus, acute inflammatory neuropathies, traumatic brain injury and subarachnoid haemorrhage;
• Hereditary neurological diseases such as Huntington's.

They are very common in the UK:

• Neurology symptoms account for 20% of acute hospital admissions and are the third most common reason for seeing a GP;
• 0.6-1% of the population is diagnosed with a neurological condition every year and 1 in 6 people have a neurological condition that makes a significant impact on their lives;
• 2% of the UK population are disabled by a neurological condition and 850,000 people are caring for someone with a neurological condition;

The lifetime prevalence of both MS and Parkinson's is 2 per 1,000 population and double that for active epilepsy; The lifetime prevalence of headache is 90%, and for young women it is the most common symptom reported in the community

The following organisations can provide support to you. Please note that the Black Country Neurological Alliance cannot be held responsible for the content of any third party website.

National Neurological Alliance offer support and have just published their 2017 manifesto. Click here to download the manifesto or click here to visit the National Neurological Alliance website.

List of Neurological Conditions

Please note that we currently don't have information about all of the conditions below but where we have them they are provided below. Click here to download the whole list in word format, or scroll down below to find the condition you are looking for. Conditions are listed according to their first letter:-

Other Support

Adult Social Services

Dudley

Sandwell

Walsall

Wolverhampton

Rehabilitation Teams

Dudley Rehab Services 01384 321600 Stourbridge Health and Social Care Centre, John Corbett Drive, Stourbridge, DY8 4JB

Wolverhampton Community Neurological Rehabilitation Team West Park Rehabilitation Hospital, Park Road West, Wolverhampton, WV1 4PW 01902 444723

Sandwell – Community Rehabilitation Team (Integrated care Service) Sandwell General Hospital, Hallam Street, West Bromwich, B71 4HJ, Contact phone number 0121 507 2664 (option 5)

Walsall Community Neurological Rehabilitation Team Short Heath Clinic, Bloxwich Road North, Short Heath, Willenhall, WV12 5PR. contact Short Heath Clinic - 0845 113 0610 / 01922 604464

Healthwatch

Healthwatch Dudley

Healthwatch Sandwell

Healthwatch Walsall

Healthwatch Wolverhampton

Other

SSAFA National Armed Forces Charity Local Contact: West Midlands North Branch Walsall District & Wednesbury Tel. 01922 722778 Wolverhampton Tel. 01902 864030 Dudley Tel. 01384 254830 Email: info@ssfa.org.uk

The Charity for Civil Servants provides help for people who work as civil servants or an associated organisation. Check the website to see if you are eligible.

Ablewell Advice

Wolverhampton Carer Support

The Brain Charity providing information on various neurological conditions

Brain and Spine

Useful Organisations

The following organisations may be useful, but please note that the presence of this link from our website does not mean that we can endorse the organisation.

Directory of Hypnotherapists