Next week, I will be handing to the Australian Government a Blueprint for a National Action Plan for Neurological Conditions.
The presentation will take place at Parliament House in Canberra at an event with over 100 members of the neurological community and Parliamentarians in attendance.
The Blueprint has been developed by the Neurological Alliance Australia, working closely with people living with neurological and neuromuscular conditions, researchers, clinicians, industry, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and many others.
It’s not a national action plan in itself. Rather, it makes the case and sets out the key points that should be included in a national action plan that should be developed by the Australian Government, working with all state and territory governments and co-designed with the Australian neurological community.
In other words, it’s one enormous prod, suggesting to the Australian Government that it has an obligation – and an economic imperative – to take action on neurological conditions as a disease group.
Australia has funded national action plans for other major disease groups – cancers, cardiovascular diseases and mental health.
But there is no national action plan for the estimated seven million Australians living with some form of neurological condition.
The case for an action plan is clear.
Australia signed on to the WHO’s global action plan for neurological conditions in 2022. This plan calls on member nations to implement their own action plans or strengthen existing plans and policies.
Many countries are already taking action, including India, Italy, Germany, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, South Africa and Zambia. But, so far, Australia is absent from this list.
There is another compelling reason why even the government’s economic hardheads should back the action plan: it should save money.
Action taken to improve prevention, access to treatment and rehabilitation will curb costs, potentially saving billions of dollars. Global research makes this case robustly, indicating trillions of dollars could be saved across 11 countries by 2030.
This needs to be part of the Government’s economic and productivity reform agenda. It just makes sense.
Will the Australian Government take action? There is cause for optimism. Already, two state governments have committed to developing neurological action plans or strategies: Queensland and WA.
The Federal Health Department, in turn, readily admits that there are gaps in the current approach to neurological conditions. And it has moved to address, at least in a preliminary way, one glaring gap – the lack of a neurological data collection.
But we need comprehensive action to better detect, treat and care for people with neurological conditions, more investment in research (and the infrastructure that underpins research, including support for brain and biobanks). And we need funding to promote brain health, helping to stop disease before it starts.
A funded neurological action plan with clear goals and targets will save lives, improve quality of life and bring substantial economic benefits for the entire nation.
It’s time.
