THE number of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in Scotland has risen "considerably" in a year, according to official records.

Over the course of 2015 NHS Scotland staff told 530 people they definitely had the illness, the highest number in six years.

This level of MS is significantly higher than that found in most other countries, including other parts of the UK, according to a report on the figures.

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Rates are higher in the more northerly health board areas, fitting with evidence from around the world that shows the disease is more common in countries further away from the equator.

MS is a condition which can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. It occurs because the immune system starts to attack a protective sheath which surrounds nerves and helps signals pass between the brain and the rest of the body.

Scotland has been recording the number of people suffering from MS since 2010 on a dedicated register. In 2010 418 people were diagnosed with the illness, rising to 431 in 2014 to 530 last year. The latest report on the register, released by the statistics division of the Scottish NHS, described this as a considerable increase and says it is not known whether it is due to more cases being recorded or an actual increase in the number of sufferers.

The report continues: "If the numbers of newly diagnosed MS cases are increasing, this will have implications for service development, in particular with a need for additional MS specialists, doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, and increased numbers of clinic appointments if Healthcare Improvement Scotland standards of care are to be met."

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Care for patients appears to have improved since the register was launched. The report says 62.6 per cent of patients had contact from an MS nurse specialist within 10 working days of their diagnosis, up 10 per cent since 2010. However the report refers to inadequate staffing and says: "Access to nurse specialists varies depending on where the diagnosis is made and is influenced by geographical factors and also by staffing levels."

Morna Simpkins, director for the MS Society Scotland, said: “Being diagnosed with MS can be a stressful and upsetting time, and being able to see an MS nurse as close to diagnosis as possible is extremely important in terms of support, information and accessing appropriate treatments. While the Scottish MS Register reports an improvement here, we are concerned that a significant proportion of newly diagnosed people are still waiting longer for appointments.

“There also remains a postcode lottery when it comes to accessing MS specialist services at the point of diagnosis because of the different pathways that exist within health boards. We want everyone with MS to have access to the right services and support regardless of where in Scotland they live."

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Since the register began 2731 patients have been told they have MS. This represents an incidence rate of 8.55 cases per 100,000 people. The highest incidence of 17.06 per 100,000 is reported in NHS Orkney and the lowest of 6.09 per 100,000 is reported in NHS Lanarkshire. Scotland's six most northern health boards have an average annual incidence rate of 11.39 per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of 8.1 for the more southerly boards.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish MS Register is important in helping NHS boards to plan and implement high quality services for their patients. The steady improvement in the standards of MS diagnosis, referral and treatment over the past few years is a reflection of this.

“Whilst these figures show that, over the last five years, there has been a steady improvement in the percentage of newly diagnosed patients having contact with a MS clinical nurse specialist within 10 days, it is clear that we must continue to improve on this."

The Scottish Government has invested an extra £2.5m to enhance specialist nursing provision across Scotland including the recruitment of three new MS specialist nurses.