The number of neurologists in the United Kingdom needs to double if patients are to receive an adequate service, leading specialists said last week.
The United Kingdom, with only 358 neurologists, lags behind the United States and most European countries in terms of the proportion of neurologists in the population. About a third of patients admitted to hospital who could benefit from seeing a neurologist do not see one until after they have been discharged, said Professor Christopher Kennard, general secretary of the World Congress of Neurology, held earlier this week in London.
An estimated three million people in the United Kingdom have neurological disorders, but each specialist is expected to serve a population of 177000. The United States has one neurologist per 26000 people and France has one per 39000.