Welcome to the Black Country Neurological Alliance website
The Black Country Neurological Alliance (BCNA) is an umbrella organisation, led by people who are affected directly or indirectly by a neurological condition. We are part of the Neurological Alliance (www.neural.org.uk) and are focussed on the people of the Black Country, bringing them closer to services available from both statutory and voluntary bodies.
Our vision is that any person affected by a neurological condition, living in the Black Country, will have access to all the resources and support they need to enable them to live an active and fulfilled life.
Our aim is to promote a better understanding of neurological conditions through the provision of information, by sign posting to support services and influencing local decision makers in order to increase the opportunities for individuals to make informed choices that will enhance their quality of life.
Members of our organising committee with guests.
Our committee members, many of whom are living with neuro conditions themselves, attend meetings with service providers such as Clinical Commissioning Groups where they have the opportunity to influence decisions on local services. They meet frequently with service providers, being able to speak from the viewpoint of lived-in experience.
They have also been able to host a series of successful roadshows and conferences, which were attended by members of the public, by health professionals, and people who knew from experience what it is like to live with a neurological condition. These were held in all four Boroughs of the Black Country, which consists of Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Walsall, in venues which included the Molineux football ground, Dudley Village Hotel, and Walsall Village Hotel. Without exception these were very well received by those who participated
Attendees at one of the conferences listen to a speaker
On a local level in each Borough we held informal monthly gatherings, which we called “Café Neuro”, where interested people could meet and just chat or share ideas, solutions to problems and make friends with others who understood their situations.
Many of the meetings of Café Neuro also had speakers from various services, introducing people to new ideas and they were much appreciated by regular users.
BCNA has been managed by a committee consisting of people living with neuro conditions themselves, who clearly understood what it was like. Time and the pandemic have taken a toll however, and the committee is now in need of help itself if it is to be able to continue with this valuable work. They are all volunteers giving their time and expertise for which the only reward is the knowledge that they are helping others in the same way.
We are looking for volunteers! Could that be you? You just need to know what it’s like to live with a neurological or neuromuscular condition, whether as a person with a condition, or someone who knows, is related to, or works with such people.
Contact
Further contact details are coming. Watch this space !
Charity Registration
Registered as Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) No. 1168259 in 2016. Working across the Black Country for people affected by Neurological Conditions.
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