MS Trust CEO David Martin talks 2019 highlights, the challenges facing people with MS and his former life as a drummer in a punk band!
What has been your highlight of 2019?
There have been two moments this year when I have been particularly proud of our work at the MS Trust. We have already placed an additional seven MS nurses into the NHS to ensure that fewer people are having to face MS alone. When we discovered that these nurses had provided support to an additional 3,612 people with MS, this really did bring a big lump to my throat. Anyone who has rung our helpline (0800 032 3839) will know just how good it is (if I have a question about MS, they’re the first people I go and ask!). It’s an amazing service, but I have been keen for even more people to benefit from it. So I’m really pleased to see that it’s reaching more people. 3,767 questions have been answered by our team already this year, which means that more people know more about MS and can make more informed decisions or ask the right questions of their consultant, MS nurse or therapist. The helpline team have been working their socks off to achieve that growth and I am so proud of them for making it happen.
What are you looking forward to in 2020?
I hope that our Advanced MS Champions are going to transform the NHS for some of the 40,000 people with advanced MS. We know that MS nurses, therapists and MSologists are working very hard, but too many people are being left to tackle their MS alone. By 2020 we will have created six Advanced MS Champions who will co-ordinate care for people with advanced MS across different services, and work across boundaries within the NHS and social care to ensure delivery of joined-up care. Next year, we will be giving the evidence from our Champions to the NHS which will show that it’s possible to provide a better service for people with MS and save the NHS money too.
What are the biggest challenges people with MS face?
There are many people with MS who are not on disease modifying drugs and who don’t get enough support from the NHS.
The huge unmet need is a scandal. There should be more MS nurses, more therapists and more MS neurologists so more people with MS get the specialist support they need.
What is the MS Trust doing to help address these challenges?
We are planning to fund at least five more MS nurses to the NHS in the next year. We are also thinking about whether we should provide even more Advanced MS Champions. People with MS know best what helps them on a day to day basis and we want to give them even more resources and information to enable them to do that and to live well with their MS. We will continue to train all new MS nurses as well.
What do you think the future holds for the MS Trust?
The Trust is a small charity but despite our small size, we have shown that we can make a real difference to the lives of people with MS. While I don’t want us to change too much, I think we have got to challenge ourselves to think what we can do to support even more people with MS. I’ll be sitting down with trustees and staff in 2020 to start to think what our long-term plans should be. It might be simply doing a bit more of what we already do, or it could be about doing one or two new things. We will be asking people outside of the Trust nearer the time.
What do you love most about your job?
I have worked in the charity sector for more than 10 years, but the people in the MS sector are simply the best. I love the MS Trust team because they are so passionate. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to make the magic happen for so many people. I love meeting people with MS themselves and hearing about their lives and challenges and I love talking to the MS nurses, therapists and other health professionals and hearing some of the great examples of the differences they are making every day.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I love cycling. It helps to keep me fit. I enjoyed riding to Amsterdam with 40 other cyclists last year for the MS Trust and I am now thinking what my next challenge might be.
Tell us something about yourself that not a lot of people will know.
I was once the drummer in a punk band called the New Sneakers. We weren’t very good. We made a demo but it’s safe to say that since I played the demo at home, it’s kept the burglars away
