The Walton Centre – Liverpool

                                           NMOSD Clinical Service at The Walton Centre, Liverpool

wcft.nmo.advice@nhs.net

Tel: 0151 556 4008

Referrals received from consultant neurologists will be accepted, referrals direct from GP’s will be accepted if it is likely the patient has NMOSD or if the patient has AQP4 or MOG antibodies

Dr Saif Huda, Consultant Neurologist, leads the NMOSD Service which provides the following:

• Expert input on diagnosis, assessment and treatments
• Acute admissions for relapse assessment and management
• Remote advice to local medical teams
• Patient telephone and email advice line, manned by the NMOSD Nurse Specialists
• Access at clinic appointments to a full medical and therapy team (see below)
• Written information and access to websites on NMOSD

Meet the Clinical Team  

Consultant Neurologist – Dr Saif Huda

Consultant Neurologist – Shahd Hamid

Consultant Paediatric Neurologist: Dr Rachel Kneen
At Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool. She runs a Neuro-inflammatory service at her hospital with rheumatology colleagues. She is a member of the UK Childhood Inflammatory Disorder Group. She is a key member of the Brain Infectious Group with the University of Liverpool and is involved in many clinical research projects involving childhood (and adult) brain infection and inflammation.

NMOSD Clinical Fellows: Emily Gibbons and Mirasol Forcadela
A clinical fellow is a doctor who is gaining experience in NMOSD. Both our fellows are involved in clinical care and undertaking research projects. You may be invited to participate in research.

NMOSD Neurology registrar on an observership – Chiara Rocchi
Chiara is with us on an observership from Italy where she works as a neurology registrar.  She is here to gain knowledge and understanding of the condition and to help with research projects and patient care.

NMOSD Nurse Specialists: Sam Linaker and Tricia Kelly
Sam and Tricia provide a point of contact for patients and professionals and provide education, support and advice. They are responsible for ensuring the care of all patients linked in to the service as well as providing teaching and information for nursing staff from neurology units across the north of England.

Orthoptist: Francesca Lynch
My role is to carry out an assessment of your vision and discuss your day to day visual needs and to ensure any visual defects are taken into account when treatment is being planned. Advice will be given in the NMOSD clinic and any further interventions required can then be arranged locally.

NMO Counsellor

Stephanie Edwards joined the team in 2020.  She provides help, support and signposting for patients who want help dealing with their emotional and mental health issues.

Occupational Therapist
The occupational therapist’s role is to maintain your independence in everyday activities that you want and need to do. This includes activities that you may be finding difficult or have stopped doing due to your symptoms, such as fatigue, including personal care, domestic tasks, hobbies and employment activities. Occupational therapists work with you to problem solve and find different ways of doing things or suggest alternative activities to maintain your independence and well-being.

Physiotherapist
The physiotherapist’s role is to identify and make the most of movement ability by health promotion, preventive advice, treatment and rehabilitation. Patients are encouraged to take an active role to help make the best of their independence and function.

Dietitian
The role of our dietitian is to provide advice about nutrition and health. They can also advise about food related problems in disease and health and can give advice regarding weight loss particularly whilst on steroids.

NMOSD Co-ordinator: Diane Pickering
Diane helps ensure the service is administered effectively.  As the NMOSD Coordinator, she has close contact with all the healthcare professionals previously mentioned. She will also arrange clinics, admissions, investigations requested by the neurologists (such as MRI) and the transfer of information between these healthcare professionals.
Diane should be contacted to arrange appointments, request letters/patient information or as a point of contact if you are unsure who to direct a query to. Diane has daily contact with the clinical team and is therefore an excellent resource for patients.

Secretaries: Annette Topping and Elizabeth Gibb
Annette and Betty provide an invaluable service for the team in making sure that all your clinic letters are typed and sent out to you GP, other consultants and to you.