The NMSC has been providing a number of short treatment and rehabilitation programmes in the framework of the transmural MS team (TMST) since the start of 2015. Each programme has a specialist multidisciplinary team and a specific care pathway. The referral comes from the multidisciplinary consultation.
The treatment or rehabilitation programme that best matches the needs of the person with MS is determined by the screening and after consultation with the person with MS.
There are 11 programmes which each deal with a specific problem in more detail. All have the aim of stimulating self-reliance and increasing it where possible.
This programme provides therapeutic supervision for people with MS who need psychological support (MS processing issues, relationship counselling, etc.) or who want inspiration about how to deal with their life with MS in a good way.
Active coping techniques are taught and an active lifestyle promoted. This takes place both in individual and group sessions.
This programme aims to prevent physical, mental and social complications with bladder and bowel problems.
Advice, the starting of medication, pelvic floor muscle exercises and possibly small medical examinations are part of the therapy offered.
This programme is intended for people with questions about sexuality, related to MS.
Advice, the starting of medication, pelvic floor muscle exercises and sexual counselling are services offered in this programme.
Impairments in vocalisation or spoken language, but also with difficulty swallowing or breathing are looked at here.
The therapists can guide the person to the appropriate (speech) therapy and/or treatment.
This programme focuses on providing information and advice about resources that can contribute to greater/better mobility for the person with MS.
This programme evaluates the individual possibilities for active participation in sports, and technical sports advice is provided. Anyone who wants more assistance in their surroundings after this can be referred to local fitness centres or sports clubs.
This programme provides advice and guidance to people with MS who have questions about how to organise help at home, financial allowances (whether or not via the VAPH), their living situation or possibilities in the context of their mobility (car modifications, CARA, etc.).
The ‘healthy diet’ programme concentrates on people with MS who are looking for information, advice and possibly assistance for a healthy diet. The dietician is a key figure who charts the diet and eating habits and formulates a proposal for a balanced and healthy diet, taking physique and individual possibilities into account.
Fatigue is a common MS symptom which is very complex in terms of causes, functional impact and effect on psychosocial life. This programme first investigates which factors can have an influence. Recommendations are then collected together in a plan that deals with causes and relevant factors, taking the principles of energy management into account.
People with a chronic disease such as MS often have questions about retaining their employment. They usually don't have correct and complete information about their options, and the employer is also often not informed about the integration of helpful measures. This programme actively looks at possibilities, together with the person with MS, in consultation with the employer, the medical officer from the health service (mutuality) and/or VDAB if desired.
The (short) orientation programme is a multidisciplinary programme that focuses on people who've recently been diagnosed with MS on one hand, and on people who've possibly been living with MS for longer but have recently experienced increased functional difficulty on the other.
The aim of this programme is a full multidisciplinary screening of all aspects of the disorder and an introduction to the range of various rehabilitation therapies. This leads to a multidisciplinary recommendation for how the detected problems can best be dealt with in daily life.
The costs of these treatment and rehabilitation programmes are reimbursed by the health insurance, as long as the application form for TMST rehabilitation benefits is approved and signed. The person with MS pays a limited patient fee per treatment.
More information?
Contact the TMST coordinator via 02 597 86 36 or tmst@mscenter.be