Politics Home | How can we deliver services in multiple sclerosis which are equipped for the future?

Dr Ayesha Girach, Medical Lead, Sanofi UK & Ireland

Sanofi is proud to partner with experts across the multiple sclerosis (MS) community to set out the immediate priorities for change in MS care.

At Sanofi, we believe that no one living with MS should need to navigate care alone or face unnecessary delays and gaps in support. Yet, for too many people, this is still the reality.

That’s why we brought together leading voices from across the MS community, including clinicians, patient advocates, and people living with MS, to understand challenges within the MS care pathway and identify opportunities for meaningful improvement.

In 2025, we hosted two impactful roundtables led by Dr Waqar Rashid, a Consultant Neurologist at St George’s Hospital. Together, we’ve explored what is working, what isn’t working, and what needs to change to ensure everyone with MS receives the care they deserve.

This resulted in the development of a robust, evidence-informed consensus statement that reflects the realities of current MS care and lays the groundwork for impactful change, identifying three key priorities:

1. increasing the accountability and empowerment of multidisciplinary teams to better manage patient needs
2. transforming MS services to ensure that clinicians’ time is most effectively used across the MS clinical network
3. improving patient and primary care access to local services

The vision set out in the consensus statement directly aligns with the government’s ambitions to better and more effectively meet the changing health needs of people across the country. As the NHS enters a new phase of reform and a decade of delivery ahead, there is now a window for decisive action to create a system that is proactive, personalised, and built around what matters most to people living with MS.

We are grateful to Katrina Murray for the opportunity to launch this consensus statement in Parliament, alongside the experts, patient groups, and people with lived experience who made this work possible.

Parliamentarians and policymakers now have the opportunity to champion a vision for MS care that enables healthcare providers to deliver for patients. By bringing people together, we can realise the opportunity to turn shared ambition into real change for people with MS.

About Sanofi

Sanofi has been committed to supporting the MS community for almost two decades, working in partnership with healthcare professionals and patient organisations across the UK to ensure MS is understood, monitored and managed in line with current science.

At the heart of our work is a commitment to protect what matters most to people – whether it’s the ability to keep working, stay active or be present for family, our goal is to help people living with MS retain their independence in the ways that matter to them, for as long as possible.

Katrina Murray, Member of Parliament for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch

I was delighted to sponsor the recent parliamentary launch of the Future of MS Care consensus statement, reflecting my ongoing interest in chronic and long-term conditions and the significant impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Scotland. Over 150,000 people in the UK live with MS, and nearly 7,100 people are newly diagnosed every year.¹ MS is particularly prevalent in Scotland, which has one of the highest rates of the condition in the world, with an estimated prevalence of more than 200 per 100,000 population.² It is now the most common disabling neurological condition among young adults in Scotland.³

No statistic can capture what it means to live with MS. While every experience of MS is unique, the frustration of delays, fragmented care, and the sense of being left to navigate an overwhelming system alone are all too common. Too many people face barriers at the first step of diagnosis,⁴ which can contribute significantly to patient anxiety and poor long-term engagement with services.⁵ For those living with progressive forms of MS, the challenge continues with accessing treatment from a neurologist,⁶ while women’s specific needs are often overlooked, despite the fact that they are three times more likely to develop MS than men.⁷

Yet, in the face of these realities, what stands out most is the strength and determination of the MS community. I have been very much encouraged by the ambition and insight shared by the MS community to drive improvements across the care pathway. Genuine improvement in MS care necessitates involving people living with MS to best understand the 360-degree nature of living with a chronic condition to shape their services.

Working with Sanofi gave me the opportunity to connect with people from across the MS community, as Parliament came together to consider how MS services can better deliver care that meets the diverse and changing needs of those affected.

A particular interest of mine is the need for improvements in MS diagnosis. As more people are diagnosed with MS every year, it is vital that the diagnostic pathway evolves and delivers responsive, timely care for people at what can be an incredibly vulnerable point in their MS journey, and I fully support the vision for a transformed diagnostic journey set out in the Future of MS Care consensus statement.

Now, more than ever, is the time to be bold. With the government’s 10 Year Health Plan and the upcoming update to the Women’s Health Strategy, we have an opportunity to make long-lasting change. We must aim to build a health system that’s not just responsive, but patient-focused.

There is real value in clinicians, patients and policymakers coming together to set out joint ambitions for the path forward. Parliamentarians from across the House of Commons must come together to listen to the voices of the MS community, work with them to rethink what good care looks like, and make their vision a reality.

To learn more about the ongoing work on the Future of MS Care Project, please contact WA Communications at [email protected]

This article has been produced and funded by Sanofi UK and Ireland. It has been co-authored by Katrina Murray, Member of Parliament for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, and Dr Ayesha Girach, Medical Lead, Neurology, Sanofi UK & Ireland.

MAT-XU-2600327 (V1.0) | February 2026

References

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2. Public Health Scotland (2024) Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register 2024. Available at: https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20241112193230/https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/scottish-multiple-sclerosis-register-smsr/scottish-multiple-sclerosis-register-smsr-report-2024-figures-from-january-to-december-2023/ [Accessed February 2026]
3. Public Health Scotland (2025) Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register (MSSR) – Overview of SMSR. Available at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/resources-and-tools/health-strategy-and-outcomes/scottish-national-audit-programme-snap/scottish-multiple-sclerosis-register-smsr/overview-of-smsr/ [Accessed February 2026]
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6. MS Society (2022) My MS My Needs. Available at: https://www.mssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-05/My%20MS%20My%20Needs%202022.pdf [Accessed February 2026]
7. MS Society. Women and MS. Available at: https://www.mssociety.org.uk/about-ms/what-is-ms/women-and-ms [Accessed February 2026]