Muscular dystrophy sufferers ‘being failed by NHS’

NHS patients in the UK who are suffering from muscular dystrophy are being failed by the service, it has been claimed.

According to a report conducted by an all-party Parliamentary Group on Muscular Dystrophy, around 1,000 adults and children with muscular dystrophy in Northern Ireland are not receiving adequate treatment from the NHS, the BBC reports.

Mark Duncan, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, said that the standards of care they receive are so poor that, in some cases, the health of patients is being compromised.

He told the news provider that treatments are helping to extend lives, but “if people are going without those in Northern Ireland then people are dying earlier than their counterparts in other parts of the country”.

Muscular dystrophy describes a wide range of conditions affecting either the muscles or the nerves which can affect children, adults and individuals from all ethnic backgrounds.