Sheffield Children’s neuromuscular centre recognised for outstanding care

Sheffield Children’s Neuromuscular Team are a Muscular Dystrophy UK Centre of Clinical Excellence with Research!

The Neuromuscular Team at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has received a prestigious Centre of Excellence award from leading national charity Muscular Dystrophy UK. The charity represents more than 110,000 children and adults in the UK living with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions.

It made the award to Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust for providing outstanding care, promoting best practice locally and nationally and demonstrating their commitment to improving health and care for people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions.

In total 24 neuromuscular centres across the UK, including Sheffield Children’s, were recognised. The information gathered through the awards process provides a benchmark of neuromuscular services across all centres that took part in a national audit. This will help centres in their efforts to build business cases for additional NHS investment in core services.

Dr Min Ong, Neuromuscular Consultant at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is a real honour to receive Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Centre of Excellence for the second time. We are also very pleased to be recognised for excellence in research. This award recognises the ongoing care and support that the Sheffield Children’s team provides to our patients in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and beyond and our efforts to improve understanding of neuromuscular conditions. We pride ourselves in supporting people living with a muscle wasting or weakening condition and providing an excellent standard of care.”

The centres across the country can provide a lifeline for those living with a muscle wasting or weakening condition.

Catherine Woodhead, Chief Executive of Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: “We would like to congratulate Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust on being recognised with a Centre of Excellence award after a robust and rigorous assessment of their service by leading neuromuscular experts and members of the muscle wasting and weakening community. Despite continuing pressures and challenges within the NHS, these centres strive every day to ensure they promote best practice and provide an exemplary service.

“The findings from our Centre of Excellence awards demonstrate that many centres continue to require investment to develop specialist multi-disciplinary teams that can provide the best care possible, along with a working environment that fosters the ability to conduct or support excellent research and clinical trials to advance treatments and other scientific progress. That’s why we’re calling on commissioners to include requirements for the provision of the recommended standards of neuromuscular care.”

Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Centres of Excellence awards take place every three years. The audit is overseen by the charity’s Services Development Committee and an independent sub-committee of neuromuscular health professionals and people with lived experience of neuromuscular conditions. The audit reviews information, a range of case studies and examples of best practice as well as assessing the way neuromuscular services are organised and how people using the services can access them.

For further information on Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Centre of Excellence awards visit: musculardystrophyuk.org/centreofexcellenceawards