The development of a Functional Neurological Symptoms service within a National Health Service setting

Abstract

This paper describes the development ofa Functional Neurological Symptoms (FNS) service across five pha,ses of growth. We outline the original context in which the need arose to establish resources for functional presentations and describe the design and evolution ofa care-pathway to meet this need. We then reflect on the introduction of outcome measures to evaluate service efficacy and report on early indications from our initial small cohort of outcome data. The opportunities and challenges of developing an FNS service are discussed and we highlight future directions and possible research questions.