The Paediatric Neuromuscular Disease Unit at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust has been marked as one of only five “Centres of Excellence” in the UK, by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.
The centre, based at the Leeds Children’s Hospital at the LGI, cares for children and young adults with rare and complex conditions affecting muscle function. The centre provides services across the region and access to some of the best clinicians in the country.
The recognition followed a comprehensive survey, hosted by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) through the CARE-MD and TREAT-NMD international organisations who set the standards against which services are measured. The team at the Leeds Children’s Hospital demonstrated a high standard of clinical care and comprehensive diagnostic services, and were active both in national audit and research activity.
Muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular conditions cause muscles to waste and weaken over time, leading to increasing disability, and in many cases, significantly affect life expectancy.
Access to specialist services, such as those available at Leeds, enables families to receive expert guidance on diagnosis and management, including specialist therapies and support. This can make a life-changing – or life-saving – difference to patients.
Dr Anne-Marie Childs, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Leeds Hospital, said:
“We are delighted that the children’s neuromuscular service at Leeds has been recognised as 1 of 5 paediatric centres of clinical excellence in the UK. The multidisciplinary team have worked hard to ensure that high quality care is provided to children and families across the region with neuromuscular conditions.
“We welcome all the hard work carried out by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and others to highlight the importance of providing access to expert services for all those with neuromuscular conditions, and value the recognition of this at a national level.”
