Gwam Rajiah, managing director of Bespoke Healthcare, an independent provider of nerve conduction studies for public and private hospitals throughout the United Kingdom, looks at the issues confronting neurophysiology departments around the UK.

Neurophysiology – the conduction of nerves in the human body – is an essential but often overlooked sector of the healthcare industry.  As such waiting times, patient service and overall pricing are usually outside the parameters set by the Department of Health.

Having worked in the NHS for over 33 years, which culminated in a senior role at Royal Preston Hospital where I was responsible for Renal, Plastics and Neurosciences, these issues confronted me and my colleagues around the country on a daily basis.

Now I sit looking from the outside in, where I continue to talk to hospitals around the country, it has given me a clear insight into public versus private delivery of this vital area.

Wait a minute
In non-essential cases, the patient process from initial referral to a consultant clinical neurophysiologist to the delivery of the results can be a long and winding road.

We collect average figures from every hospital we deal with, and the initial appointment takes approximately six weeks, the patient will then wait close to four weeks for the test and this is usually carried out by a clinical physiologist, particularly where carpal tunnel clinics are run.

The results are then checked by the consultant clinical neurophysiologist and, in certain cases, it may require a repeat test with more elaborate invasive EMG procedure.

If the clinical neurophysiologist consultant cannot see the patient at the time, a second appointment is made which is around the same waiting time as before, and only then does the patient hear the diagnosis.