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'Life-changing' research to help choking in MND

Prospect Hospice Dr Sara Mazzucco, from Great Western Hospital, and Dorinda Moffatt, from Prospect Hospice, stand together looking at the camera. Sara, on the left, has blonde hair and an NHS lanyard and Dorinda, on the right, has blonde hair tied on a ponytail and a prospect hospice lanyard.Prospect Hospice
Dr Sara Mazzucco, from Great Western Hospital, and Dorinda Moffatt, from Prospect Hospice, are both involved

Research described as "life-changing" is under way in a bid to help people with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) with a distressing symptom of the disease - choking.

Choking is one of the most life-threatening symptoms of the disease and the focus of the research is to develop guidance for healthcare professionals, carers and people living with MND.

It is being led by Swindon's Prospect Hospice and Great Western Hospital, along with the University of Oxford. The plan is to get insight from people living with MND and their families.

Dorinda Moffatt, MND specialist practitioner at the hospice, said it would give "carers clearer guidance on how to manage choking episodes safely and with dignity".

Prospect Hospice A branch of white blossoms on a sunny day in front of the Prospect Hospice building, which is two storeys and red brick with a pitched roof.Prospect Hospice
Prospect Hospice serves people in Swindon, north east Wiltshire and part of Gloucestershire

With funding from the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the project is called "Management of Choking in People Living with Motor Neurone Disease: A Co-Designed, Evidence-Based Clinical Algorithm".

Dr Sara Mazzucco, Neurology Consultant at Great Western Hospital said: "We are thrilled to have been awarded funding from the Motor Neurone Disease Association to be able to take forward this life-changing research.

"Bringing everyone together in a shared space means we can have open conversations, grounded in compassion, and give those who live with the condition the chance to be directly involved in developing treatments that will positively affect others on the MND journey," she added.

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