The Bristol and Avon
Multiple Sclerosis
Centre

BrAMS, based at Frenchay Hospital, will provide comprehensive MS patient care and carry out disease-orientated research. The unit is well-placed to provide a regional MS Centre of Excellence, with three MS specialist consultants leading a steadily growing team dedicated towards clinical care and research in MS. The refurbishment of the Glial Cell Laboratories offers a timely, inexpensive and exciting opportunity to convert an ideally situated and structured building to provide care, while the new MS laboratories in the Burden Neurological Institute will accommodate front-line research into stem cell and other new treatment strategies.

BrAMS Clinical Care Facility

BrAMS will consist of two closely-related facilities. Firstly, a new clinical care centre will address the needs of patients with multiple sclerosis; and, secondly, newly refurbished laboratories will allow for expansion of MS-related research programmes already established in Bristol.
The specific aims of the new unit are:

• to provide a location with disabled access for clinics dedicated to patients with multiple sclerosis to deliver high quality co-ordinated patient treatment and social care

• to accelerate the on-going research programme based at Frenchay hospital, specifically investigating the use of stem cells as treatments for MS and defining therapies for progressive disease

• to provide rapid access to relapse clinics, treatment and MS nurse intervention; and a dedicated site for day-case intravenous infusions of medications and botulinum toxin injections.

• to allow expansion of the current MS team to provide multi-disciplinary dedicated sessional input to MS patients

• to allow for increased involvement in international clinical trials through dedicated space and staff provision

Burden Neurological Institute

The initial creation of BrAMS will be £250,000. Funds raised will be used to convert the relocating laboratory facilities into a patient care centre; including provision of an IT network (linked to the main NBT network); furnishing of the building; staff costs including, nursing, physiotherapy, urology and allied medical speciality sessions. In addition, resources will be targeted to development of research programmes aimed at developing therapies for multiple sclerosis.

BrAMS has been established by Prof Scolding, Drs Cottrell and Wilkins, and is supported by the North Bristol Trust, the South-West MS group, the University of Bristol and MS Research Training & Education.

North Bristol NHS Trust Charitable Funds
Charity Registered No: 1055900