ABSTRACT
Introduction: The community non-invasive ventilation (NIV) practitioner service is supported by two physiotherapists who provide out-reach domiciliary support to patients with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The aim of this study was to look at service utilisation, including NIV set-ups and palliative care referrals for this cohort of patients following the Covid-19 pandemic. Method(s): During the UK national lockdowns and the periods of shielding for vulnerable patients, the service was run remotely via telephone support with home visits only undertaken if clinically indicated. We retrospectively studied all patients in the service with MND from January 2019 to December 2021, looking at number of new referrals to the service, NIV set-ups and referrals to palliative care. Result(s): 105 patients were identified with MND, 52% male, mean age 67 (SD 10). Between 2020 and 2021, new referrals increased by 35%, NIV set-ups by 56% and palliative care referrals also increased by 22%. A similar trend was observed for the data comparing 2019 and 2021 (see figure 1). Conclusion(s): This study identified an increase in community MND NIV practitioner service utilisation and palliative care referrals following the Covid-19 pandemic. Further work is needed to understand how the impact of the pandemic on access to healthcare and the shielding of MND patients may have contributed to these findings.