ORCID

Abstract

Background: Fifty-five to ninety percent of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) report disabling fatigue, but a previous survey found that only 31% of UK adults with MS experiencing fatigue report being offered any treatment. The aim of this study was to capture the service perspective of routine care for MS fatigue and resource availability. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to NHS services across the United Kingdom to be completed by healthcare professionals working with people with MS. Results: Eighteen services completed the survey. Services supported a median of 1100 patients. Allied healthcare professional availability varied across services but was generally low (median range 0–6 staff per type). On average, services estimated that only 28% (SD = 26.51) of patients were receiving fatigue treatments. Conclusions: Findings highlighted the unmet need around MS fatigue management, complementing previously captured patient perspectives. Although the study included a small, self-selecting subset of services and may have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, it demonstrates the necessity of accounting for resource availability to successfully implement new fatigue interventions.

Publication Date

2026-03-09

Publication Title

Behavioural Neurology

Volume

2026

Issue

1

ISSN

0953-4180

Deposit Date

2026-05-01

Funding

R.M-M. acknowledges the financial support from the Department of Health via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health award to the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and the Institute of Psychiatry at King′s College London.

Keywords

fatigue, implementation, multiple sclerosis, routine care, UKMSR

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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