Yvette Cooper pays tribute to Rob Burrow as she pledges fast-track care for MND patients

Yvette Cooper has announced new fast-track support for motor neurone disease (MND) patients, forming part of a wider overhaul of social care.

The Health Secretary paid tribute to the late Rob Burrow, the former England rugby league star who died in 2024 from MND complications.

Visiting a Leeds care centre named after Mr Burrow, Ms Cooper highlighted his crucial work in raising awareness and improving support for those affected, also acknowledging the efforts of his family and former teammate Sir Kevin Sinfield.

She said: “What we’ve got to do now is make sure the principles that apply here about supporting families and patients are applied throughout the National Health Service and also in our social care system too.

“That’s why when Andy Burnham set out a vision for a National Care Service, we prioritised MND as being something we should focus on now, providing social care support for affected families and speeding it up as well.”

The new fast-track pathway is intended to tackle “delays and fragmentation” in support for those with MND as part of the “first phase” of fixing the social care system, the Department for Health and Social Care said.

It will be developed alongside the Motor Neurone Disease Association, existing patients and carers, and others working in health, social care and housing.

Tanya Curry, chief executive of the MND Association, said: “We hear time and time again of people with MND forced to battle a system that is slow, disjointed and too complex to move quickly enough to support people with a rapidly progressing disease.

“This must change – Ms Cooper’s statement today suggests she agrees and that there is willingness at the highest levels of Government to transform the experience for people with MND.

“We must now see that willingness turned into action, with real solutions implemented nationally and locally, in health and social care.”

The announcement comes a week after the Prime Minister pledged to work with other parties to reform the social care system, describing the current situation as “bad for everybody”.

Mr Burnham announced he would be expediting Baroness Louise Casey’s commission into social care, bringing forward the original 2028 deadline to next year.

He also vowed to immediately begin reforming the workforce – saying staff should also be integrated with the NHS – as well as promising to work with the other major parties to reach a consensus on the issue.