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Towards the end of 2024, TikTok Influencer Heather Ryan developed Axonal Peripheral Neuropathy caused by a vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency, shortly after having gastric surgery abroad.

The 23-year-old recovered well from the gastric sleave surgery she travelled to Turkey to have in October last year. But in the months that followed, when reintroducing soft foods into her diet, Heather began to struggle to keep even water down.

She said: “I recovered fully from the actual surgery well. It was when at home slowly introducing more solid food back into my diet that I started getting into trouble. It felt like reflux, it was really hard to deal with. It was because of this I wasn’t getting the nutrients I needed, as I wasn’t able to eat without vomiting afterwards.”

In the months following, Heather’s condition had become worse, to the point where her legs felt weak, and she was beginning to lose sensation in her feet. At the beginning of 2025, Heather collapsed.

Heather continued: “It was really scary. I’d been throwing up and was so weak that when I collapsed I couldn’t lift myself back up off the floor. After a number of tests and investigations I was finally referred to The Walton Centre for specialist treatment. By this point the numbness in my feet had become painful.”

Once Heather’s pain was brought under control, she was transferred to The Walton Centre’s hyper-acute unit initially, then moved to the Complex Rehabilitation Unit (CRU). After further investigations, Heather was diagnosed with Axonal Peripheral Neuropathy. This condition occurs when the central core of nerves degenerates or is damaged, causing weakness, numbness or tingling in limbs.

Heather said: “By the time I got to CRU, I couldn’t walk or stand up at all. I was devastated. But all the staff, from the domestic team to the many different medical teams, got me working hard to recover.”

Heather underwent intense occupational therapy and physiotherapy, as well as psychological support and medical monitoring. She continued: “I really really didn’t think I would walk again. Which is why within a matter of weeks I was so shocked that I was able to stand up and take my first few steps. At this point I knew I had an amazing team behind me to help me get back to as close to normal as possible. What made a huge difference was that they saw me as a whole person, not just specific symptoms to be rehabilitated. They cared about everything, and that was incredibly important to me.”

Heather spent five months on CRU, working towards walking again and minimising her neuropathy as much as possible. Since being home for the last two months, Heather has been going from strength to strength.

She said: “My standing tolerance is getting better and better. I’m able to walk further each day, and I can feel my toes again. I’m staying as active as my body will allow. My family have really rallied around me, and our close relationship has helped with my recovery. I hit rock-bottom last year, so everything I’m able to regain or do is a win. I’m grateful to all the staff at The Walton Centre who supported my recovery and have put me on such a positive path.”

See more of Heather’s recovery journey on her profile on TikTok below:

@heathdingers

Thankyou to everyone at The Walton Centre ❤️ GUYS IM FINALLY HOME

♬ original sound - Heather Ryan

 

 

Read Recovery complications meant Heather had to relearn to walk after gastric sleave surgery…

To highlight one of our busiest services, Headache Service Lead Consultant Neurologist Dr Mona Ghadiri-Sana describes what goes into delivering outstanding, cutting-edge treatment for our patients.

The Walton Centre's headache service covers a wide geographical and population area of about 3.5 million people. We also regularly manage patients referred to us nationally.

We are one the biggest headache centres in the country, with four specialist consultants, with myself as the service lead, four specialist nurses, one headache coordinator as well support secretaries. We manage patients with a wide range of refractory headache disorders, and offer the latest treatments in headache management, including onabotulinum toxin, cranial nerve blocks, gammacore, CGRP targeted treatments including CGRP monoclonal antibodies and gpants and many more.

We work closely with our colleagues in pain and neurosurgical divisions to escalate care for those patients, who's conditions do not respond to medical management. We have the largest CGRP targeted cohort of patients in the country. 

We have one of the most comprehensiveIdiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) multidisciplinary teams in the country.

We are at the forefront of research and have been involved in the trials for many advanced treatments outlined above, and are currently recruiting patients who have menstrual related migraines.

We are actively involved in education and have our fourth annual north west training event in October (2025).

We continue to present our work nationally and internationally as well as continuing to improve the service through our continued learning.

Read Migraine Awareness Week 2025: Highlight one of the UK's busiest headache services…

The Walton Centre, the UK’s only specialist trust dedicated to neuroscience, will once again be featured in hit 5 documentary series Trauma Room One, an in-depth series exploring the complex world of neurosurgery. 

After the initial series in autumn 2023, the eight-part series was then repeated on 5 in spring 2024. The series, produced by Renegade Stories, follows the multi-disciplinary neurosurgical teams based at The Walton Centre, covering a range of complex and lifesaving procedures, from time-critical thrombectomies for stroke patients, to awake craniotomies for patients with high grade brain tumours.   

Chief Executive of The Walton Centre Jan Ross said: “I’m delighted that, once again, we’ve been able to let cameras into our busy hospital to highlight the incredible work our staff do. I think the series captures compelling stories of patient experience here at The Walton Centre and shows the exceptional level of care our staff give to patients.”

The film crew spent eight weeks over the summer shadowing neurosurgery, radiology, and life on the wards, gaining exclusive access to urgent and lifesaving operations.

Medical Director and Deputy CEO Dr Andy Nicolson said: “It’s very important that we recognise the work staff do on a daily basis. For many, they are being referred for urgent operations to significantly improve, or save their lives. The second series of Trauma Room One will give viewers another unique insight into the work we do here, and I’m extremely proud of the level of professionalism displayed in each episode.”

Renegade Stories, the production company behind Trauma Room One, has covered a number of subjects, from war zones to disasters. 

Renegade Stories Executive Producer Livia Simoka said: “It’s a privilege to be welcomed back into The Walton Centre to witness the extraordinary skill, teamwork and compassion that goes into every patient’s care. Trauma Room One is as much about high-stakes surgery as it is about the people whose lives are transformed and the remarkable staff who make that possible. We’re thrilled to be bringing their stories to viewers once again.” 

The new series will air on 5Star this autumn and you can catch-up on last series here.

-Ends-  

Notes to editors

Further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact the Communications Team at The Walton Centre on 0151 556 3397 or wcft.communications@nhs.net

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust is the only hospital trust in the UK specialising in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services. Although the majority of patients come from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire and the Isle of Man, for some specialist treatments of complex disorders we see patients from all parts of the country, referred by their GPs or other neurologists, neurosurgeons and pain clinicians.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust was rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. The independent regulator of all health and social care services in England published its rating on Friday 21 October 2016, following announced and unannounced inspection visits to the Trust in April 2016.

For more information please visit: www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk or follow the Trust on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Lower Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool L9 7LJ
0151 525 3611

 

Read Hit TV series Trauma Room One returns to The Walton Centre…

The Walton Centre is in the top ten Trusts in the UK after introduction of the NHS National Oversight Framework - a new tool by which all NHS Trusts will be measured. There’s 22 metrics with the framework, spread across six domains, which come together to give each organisation a segment rating of between 1 at the high end down to 5.

The Walton Centre ranks 7th out of 134 hospitals in the acute and specialist Trust league table and ranks third in the North West.

The specialist Trust is assessed against 18 metrics that apply to acute and community trusts. The results form a league table which will be updated quarterly, making a visible and accessible way for patients, staff and the wider public, to understand how the Trust is performing.

The 2024 National Adult Inpatient Survey results were also published this morning ranking The Walton Centre fourth in the region for ‘overall experience’, with a score of 9 and the top score being 9.2. This survey is hosted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and looks at the experiences of patients who stayed at least one night in The Walton Centre last year, making it a valuable tool to gauge patient satisfaction. Our results are bench-marked against other Trusts across the region.

Key highlights include:

• The Trust scored top three in the region in the following areas: the hospital and ward; and basic needs
• The Trust scored top four in the region in the following areas: admission to hospital; nurses; your care and treatment; kindness and compassion; respect and dignity

Where patient experience scored best:

• Wait to get a bed: The wait to get a bed on a ward after arrival
• Leaving hospital: Staff telling patients who to contact if they are worried about their condition/treatment after leaving hospital
• Explaining a change of wards: Reasons for changing wards explained in a way they can understand
• Waiting in the hospital: Length of time waited (in another location) before admission to a ward

What we can improve on:

• Waiting list: Length of time on waiting list before hospital admission
• Leaving hospital: Staff discussing with patients whether patients may need further health/social care services after leaving
• Individual needs: Staff taking into account patients' individual needs (dietary needs)
• Information about medicine to take at home

Where areas of improvement have been identified, we’ll be working with teams across the hospital to address these as we look to continually improve.

Read National Oversight Framework and Adult Inpatient Survey put The Walton Centre at the top…

 

Ten years ago, The Walton Centre was one of a few specialist NHS Trusts tasked with revolutionising neurological care for patients. From this work came an innovative project, which would enable staff to bring the high quality care patients receive in hospital to patients closer to home. The Integrated Neurology Nurse Service (INNS) was born.

This team of specialist nurses goes out into the communities where our patients live, so that they don’t have to travel long, sometimes anxious, journeys into the hospital for care and support. People with long-term neurological conditions, such as motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy qualify for this service.

Advanced Neurology Nurse Louise Fasting (right) is one of the INNS team. She said: “We’re a six-strong team, supporting patients through a number of different ways. From community clinics and education to home visits and providing a telephone support line, we work hard to support patients who are trying to live well with their conditions.

“What we’ve found over the years is how useful the service is to this patient group. No two days are the same, and that certainly keeps you on your toes! With a lot of our long term neurological patients, they need that reassurance and support that their condition is being managed – and we can provide that reassurance, without them sometimes making an arduous journey to their clinician here at The Walton Centre.

“The team and I can provide a specialist link to The Walton Centre within their local communities, bridging the gap between primary and secondary care. It’s also important to note the way we strive to integrate patients into community support systems and local healthcare systems.”

 

 

Timeline of a typical INNS Nurse day

8.30am: Arrive at community clinic.

9am: First patient arrives with epilepsy, seizures are stable but prevalent issue is low mood. Signposted to local services and talking therapies.

9.30am: Another person living with epilepsy. Meds increase needed.

10-11am: Two stable Parkinson’s patients, signposted to local exercise groups and a referral to physiotherapy.

11am: A person with Huntington’s disease, multiple issues identified. Left with a plan to refer to neuropsychiatry, social services, and

occupational therapy.

11.30: A person with multiple sclerosis who has found worsening mobility. Full assessment completed and a referral to physiotherapy required.

12:00: Last clinic patient. A person with Parkinson’s disease, some adjustments required to medication regime and lifestyle advice provided.

12.30-1.30pm: Dictate clinic and a bite to eat.

1.45pm: First home visit is a patient with epilepsy who struggles with remote consults and clinic attendance.

2.30pm: Second home visit, joint visit with a community matron for a person with progressive supra nuclear palsy, having issues with swallowing.

3.45pm: Last home visit, a person with motor neurone disease. Full assessment given, issues identified, and advice given to GP.

Read Feature: Bringing care closer to you…

Professor Andrew Brodbelt and colleagues from The Walton Centre returned to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) 18 months after their first visit, to attend the grand opening of their Stroke and Neuroscience Centre. Here is an extract from Professor Brodbelt’s account of the latest trip.  

I was back on the plane to Maiduguri, Nigeria 18 months after my last visit, looking at the greenery far below that was recently renewed by the rainy season. This was following an invitation by Chief Medical Director Professor Ahidjo to attend the grand opening of the new UMHT Stroke and Neuroscience Centre we had seen being built on our previous trip.  The opening had been delayed due to severe flooding that had damaged much of the hospital’s infrastructure and equipment.   

On arrival in Maiduguri, I was met at the airport by a welcoming committee including Dr Baba Aji, a Consultant Neurologist here at The Walton Centre, who had given up family holiday time to be there. There was less security on this occasion, and we drove to The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where I was to spend the next few days. 

A key aim of the trip was to help set up equipment that had been donated to the hospital by The Walton Centre, as well as attend the opening ceremony for the new unit. Previously, we had gifted equipment to the hospital that was due to be replaced, rather than dispose of it.  

The opening ceremony involved two hours of speeches in the main lecture theatre. In our third row seats we had an excellent view of the backs of the press photographers. Many important people stood up to soliloquize. The whole event built up to the final talk by the Governor. Just before he was due to speak, it was announced that I would say a few words: this was a little unexpected. The best thing about my impromptu comments were their brevity. The Governor then orated eloquently about health care, the progress in Maiduguri, his support for the federal hospital, and thanked The Walton Centre for its support.   

We then moved to the formal opening of the stroke and neuroscience centre, named after the Shehu of Borno, the chief religious and cultural leader. Cleaners cheered the Governor and knelt to the Shehu. A ribbon was cut, a plaque unveiled, and a short tour of the facilities ensued. The Walton Centre was again thanked, as we toured round the theatres filled with preloved Walton Centre equipment. 

The image guidance machine uses scan data, which will allows surgeons to know where in relation to the patient’s scan they are on the head. To test it requires the correct scan sequences. More Walton Centre staff, Neuroradiologists Dr Samantha Mills and Dr Kumar Das provided support in setting this up. A volunteer (A University student) was procured to have a test scan that could be used to demonstrate the machine. The generator was switched on, as the hospital runs on solar power, and the MRI needs consistent power. The first ever volume scan was then performed on this scanner to be used for image guidance.  

Moving to main theatre, the electromagnetic (EM) image guidance machine had its first successful test run. We were also able to get the Leica Operating Microscope working. 

A document has been developed and signed by both hospitals sets out the collaboration between UMTH and The Walton Centre. It defines responsibilities, encourages clinical cooperation, and formalises the process started more than two years ago. 

 

Patients were being seen in the new centre in the following weeks. In fact, Dr Aji led the way by seeing the first new patient ever in the stroke and neuroscience centre in his office. There is a pathway to rapidly open the centre, area by area, until it is providing stroke and neurosciences services to the 30 million people it serves.   

On the way to an early morning flight back to Abuja, we attended the hospital orchard. Professor Ahidjo had developed this vacant land to provide subsidised fruit to patients and hospital staff. I was honoured to have my own mango tree planted. I hope that Dr Baba Aji and I will be able to follow the growth and development of the tree, the new Stroke and Neuroscience Centre, and the partnership with The Walton Centre. 

Read Feature: Returning to Maiduguri…

Earlier this year The Walton Centre celebrated staff who marked 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service at the Trust with a special afternoon tea event. In total, over 1200 years of service was celebrated by this year’s recipients. Here we speak to a recipient from each decade.

10 years

Jonathan McGregor, Research Management and Governance Lead

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years – it’s absolutely flown by. I started in an audit and effectiveness role, before moving into the Datix team, then working on a project for the Spine Tango registry which led to my first role in research, and then my current role. It’s nice being able to move around and learn new things, whilst applying similar skills and experiences. “In my current role I help set up clinical studies, working with the clinical teams and other staff in the Neuroscience Research Centre. We’re one big team, working to find solutions for patients, and each other. “It’s hard to think about what the next 10 years will bring, I can barely think past the next 10 minutes! I’d like to stay in the research team, and definitely within the NHS. We’ll see!”

 

 

 

20 years

Dr Charlotte Dougan, Consultant Neurologist

“I was appointed as a Consultant at The Walton Centre in 2005. 20 years has gone very quickly and I’ve seen a lot of changes. The Walton Centre has been a fantastic place to work, it’s allowed me to develop my career in my specialist area of neurology and support advances in treatment and care for the benefit of patients. “One of the most rewarding aspects has been developing and delivering the neuromuscular service with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues to rise to the challenges of providing great care. There’s a collegiate atmosphere at The Walton Centre, where everyone works together to deliver best practice. Things are always changing; the future is a fascinating place with gene therapy and precision medicine for treatment of patients with very complex and challenging diagnoses and conditions. “Looking ahead, we have considerable talent at The Walton Centre and I shall enjoy handing over the reins to the younger team members. It’s been all-encompassing, absorbing, yet very special 20 years here.”

 

30 years

Emma Baldock, Resuscitation Lead/ANP, Acute Response Team

“I wasn’t supposed to do neuro, I didn’t even have a placement until the last minute, but I was hooked and got my first role on Caton Ward on the old site in 1994, under the legendary Sister Edna Walker. In 1999 I was part of the original Critical Care Outreach team, led by Pat Crofton. “Over the past 25 years, there’s been a lot of change. But the essence of nursing has stayed the same – care and compassion. Staff here are a special group of people. It can be hard, especially dealing with some of the sickest patients, and sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want, but there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a patient go home with their family. “I feel privileged to have been at The Walton Centre for so long. One thing has never changed – we’re here for the patients, that’s been the most important thing every day for my 30 years.”

 

 

 

40 years

Cathy Stoneley, Advanced Nurse Practitioner

“I started so long ago; we wore capes and paper hats! My first role out of nursing school was on Jefferson Ward on the old site. We were straight into ward management and had a lot of responsibility in those days. I asked a lot of questions, read a lot of books, and listened to a lot of people. “Since then, I’ve done quite a few roles, including ICU, Critical Care Outreach and a matron role for a short time. I am currently a Neurovascular Advanced Nurse Practitioner. This role came from a project I put forward when a matron developed a project around it. I started the service in 2008; 17 years later, there’s five of us in the team. “We see patients in pre-op, on the wards and ICU, and for their first follow-up. It’s where we add value – doing a full holistic needs assessment of their health and situation following their haemorrhage, ensuring the best care. “I’m not ready to retire yet though, I’ve invested so much into the service and our patients – my heart is with the patients; they’re why I come to work.”

Read Feature: Our staff through the years…

A patient from North Wales whose debilitating headaches were sending him over the edge have all but gone thanks to an innovative new drug treatment from The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.

Mike Kibble-White, 83, from Corwen, has been experiencing extreme pain for over 15 years. Mike has Short-lasting Unilateral Neuralgiform Headache with Conjunctival injection and Tearing or SUNCT, which is characterised by the most severe bursts of burning, piercing or throbbing pain in the face and head. In Mike’s case, jaw movement can send his pain-levels rocketing upwards, leaving him completely unable to function for hours.

He said: “I would dread anything that involved moving my jaw. Even yawning or brushing my teeth could bring me to my knees in pain. A three out of ten headache would become an eight or nine out of ten. Got to the point where I would wake up every day worrying about when it would happen and how long I’d be suffering for. It limited everything in my life and I was getting so sick of it. I was miserable.”

Mike was referred to The Walton Centre’s Headache Service, one of the UK’s largest services of its kind, after reporting to Wrexham Maelor Hospital for urgent treatment. Once under the specialist neurosciences hospital, Mike began exploring treatment options in order to reduce his pain.

He continued: “It was hard going at first, you obviously have to try different medications and treatments to find the right one for you. But other than a strong sedative, nothing was working. That was until my consultant Dr Silver recommended Atogepant.”

All known and recognised treatments for this disorder had been explored before considering Atogepant, a drug licensed specifically to treat migraine in the UK. Dr Silver acknowledged how he had until that point been unable to impact this devastatingly severe and disabling headache disorder, which had completely taken over Mike's life. Atogopant has never before been recognised in published literature to help in this disorder, but thought it could potentially help in Mike’s condition. 

Atogepant, which began being used on the NHS last year, is a medicine that works by blocking peptides responsible for pain transmission in the brain. This can mean that pain will happen less often for patients, and when they do happen, they may be less severe.

Mike has been on the new medication for over four months, he said: “It’s been amazing. It’s changed everything: mood, relationships, motivation and energy levels. I can finally relax and not worry about my jaw starting off a painful headache. Everybody has remarked on how I’ve improved. I realised I was getting pretty down in the dumps with all the pain. I’m chuffed to bits that I’ve been able to find something that works. Like a lot of people in chronic pain, it’s taken me a while to find a solution.

“It’s important to me that people understand that even though severe headache pain like mine is invisible, it is very, very real. I might look like a grumpy old so-and-so on the outside, but in reality that high level of pain can take you to a really dark place. I’d just ask that people be more kind to those with headache conditions, and think before they dismiss someone’s pain as ‘just a headache’.”

If you would like to learn more about The Walton Centre’s Headache Service, go to our website www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk    

Read Extremely rare headache disorder significantly reduced thanks to treatment and support from The Walton Centre…