Welcome to the MS National Therapy Centres website

Who we are

More than 25 years ago, the MS Therapy Centres were founded by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their carers, with the motto:

"self-help is our way of action"

This self-help ethos is demonstrated by the fact that a high proportion of centre directors/trustees are people affected by MS.

Each MS Therapy Centre is an individual charity and they rely on the dedicated volunteers who give freely of their time to help people with MS. Most centres employ only a few paid staff.

MS Therapy Centres are spread widely across the UK and Ireland. The majority of centres are members of the umbrella body, MS National Therapy Centres, and there is a separate umbrella body in Scotland.

Approximately 13,000 people are members of MS Therapy Centres - but there are estimated to be at least 85,000 people with MS in the UK, so many more people could benefit from the services provided by these centres.

MS National Therapy Centres

Our Vision

Working with other MS charities, to improve the quality of life for all those people affected by multiple sclerosis by supporting member Centres in the provision of accessible high quality front line therapeutic and other services to those with MS and their carers.

Our Mission

To help establish and perpetuate specialised Centres of Excellence in the delivery of therapeutic and other services to those with MS and their carers.

Our Objectives

• To provide a national voice which highlights the range of support required for people with MS and their carers
• To help member Centres to establish and maintain the highest standards of care for people attending for therapy and other services
• To support the Centre Managers, Therapists and Healthcare Professionals who serve the people in their MS community
• To educate the health and social care community about therapy use in the care of people with MS
• To work constructively and in partnership with other MS organisations

Working with the MS Society

MS Society / MSNTC Joint Project Programme

The two largest charitable groups involved with enabling people with MS to live their lives to the full are coming together to determine how they can work more closely. Both MSNTC and the MS Society have affirmed their joint wish to work more closely with each other at national, regional and local levels. Many people with MS are already members of both organisations – potential and actual customers for the services available through both organisations. Already many MS Society Branches are working with their counterparts in Therapy Centres to ensure that by working together they are able to improve the range and quality of services provided to the members of both organisations, thus maximising the effective use of the limited resources available.

The new project will investigate the ways in which a sample of Therapy Centres and Branches are actively pursuing this agenda. The sampled organisations will explore the lessons they have learned from joint working, to identify the “success factors” that make co-operation a clear benefit and to identify those challenging issues that have hindered progress.

The outcome will be a set of criteria that can be applied by those Centres and Branches that wish to develop and improve their existing working relationships in the future; and by those who wish to overcome any existing difficulties in relationships. In both cases the end result will be an improvement in the use of the facilities already provided by the Therapy Centres and the branch and better coordination of help for the people that both organisations exist to serve.

October 2009

The goal is to establish closer working relationships between the two national organisations for the benefit of everyone affected by MS.