A few weeks ago I did a post on using a Citizens Jury, as a potential way to deal with the emotive issue of a lack of access to HSCT as a potential 1st-line treatment for active MS in the UK.
A Citizens Jury can help sort out the disconnect between the needs or implied needs, of the MS community, and the position of the NHS and/or the HCPs in relation to HSCT. A Citizens’ jury is when a group of people from the general public (not people with MS or vested interests) decide policy on behalf of pwMS and HCPs; in other words, citizens decide if the NHS and/or HCPs are right to withhold an effective treatment from pwMS based on its costs and/or safety profile. At the moment most HCPs feel HSCT is too risky to be a mainstream treatment for MS, whereas a large and increasing number of pwMS don’t.
The following is the results of our survey. I hope the MS Society, NHS England, ABN (Association of British Neurologists) and other stakeholders reflect on these results and consider putting together a Citizens Jury to deal with this thorny issue.
