Neurology

Our neurology services provide emergency and planned inpatient and outpatient services to a population of over two million people in north west London.

Referrals to our neurology services come from local, regional and national sources, from both GPs and other hospitals. In addition to our wide range of general neurological and neurosurgical services, the departments offer particular emergency expertise in both the hyper acute stroke unit (HASU) at Charing Cross Hospital and the major trauma centre at St Mary’s Hospital.

As a regional neuroscience centre, we bring together expertise across the range of neurological conditions, and as the Trust is an academic health science centre, we try to bring cutting edge research to the bedside for the benefit of patients. Our neuro-otology is a centre of national excellence for patients with dizzy, balance and eye movement disorders and receives referrals from around the UK. We have an internationally recognised multiple sclerosis (MS) service, with the largest UK cohort of patients on disease modifying therapies.

Our dementia service has unrivalled expertise in using advanced imaging for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. As one of London’s eight hyper acute stroke centres, in conjunction with the stroke physicians, vascular surgeons, and neuro-radiologists, we provide a high quality acute stroke service, including the use of mechanical clot retrieval in some patients.

With the major trauma centre at St Mary’s Hospital, we run an internationally recognised multidisciplinary traumatic brain injury (TBI) service, the only one of its type in the UK.

Conditions and treatments

Our neurology service offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient treatments for neurological problems, including:

• stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
• multiple sclerosis (MS)
• movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease
• epilepsy, including complex epilepsy
• cognition and memory including dementia and Alzheimer's disease
• acquired brain injury
• headache/migraine
• neuromuscular disease
• peripheral nerve disease
• neurogenetics
• neuro-infection
• neuro-ophthalmology
• neuro-otology
• neuro-oncology
• neuro-rehab

Our treatments include close liaison with neurosurgical services for patients requiring surgical intervention (e.g. for brain tumours and spinal disease), deep brain stimulation for movement disorders, disease-modifying therapies for patients with MS, botox for movement disorders and headache, hyper acute stroke interventions including thrombolysis, and mechanical clot retrieval (with the support of the interventional neuroradiology service).

Additional information

Imperial College Healthcare Private Care

We also offer private care services at Imperial College Healthcare.

All funds generated by our private care services are reinvested back into the Trust, supporting the development of both NHS and private care for the benefit of all our patients.

Find more information about private neurology services on our private care website. 

Clinical trials and research

The department is involved in a large number of clinical research trials (e.g. in MS, movement disorders, dementia, neuro-otology, stroke and TIA), so patients may be asked (if appropriate) if they would be willing to take part in a trial. It is important to note that if they decide not to participate in clinical research, this would have no bearing on their future treatment.

Further online resources

• The Neurological Alliance 
• Alzheimer’s Society 
• Brain Research UK
• Epilepsy Society 
• Headway – The Brain Injury Association 
• The Migraine Trust 
• Multiple Sclerosis Society 
• Parkinson’s UK 
• Sue Ryder Care