Health Innovation Manchester and pharmaceutical industry partner AbbVie have launched an ambitious programme to try and improve the lives of local people affected by migraine across Greater Manchester. 

Migraine is one of the most common yet misunderstood neurological conditions with an estimated 1 in 7 adults [1] in the UK living with migraine. Despite affecting millions of people, it is still too often dismissed as “just a headache” leaving people without the recognition, support, and care they need. Migraine remains largely absent from national NHS policy, leading to inconsistent care, poor outcomes, and strain on NHS services. Without proper recognition, millions of people continue to face barriers to appropriate management with most people with migraine (60.7%) waiting over 5 years to receive effective treatment for the condition, whilst over a third (39.5%) can wait 10 years or more (2024 National Migraine Centre data) [2]

Beyond the impact to people’s lives and the health system, Migraine also has a significant impact on the UK’s productivity with approximately 86 million workdays lost each year, costing approximately £8.8 billion due to lost productivity via absenteeism and presenteeism [3], placing real pressure on people, employers and the wider economy.

The collaborative working project, Transforming Migraine Care in Greater Manchester, will aim to understand the current migraine patient journey across Greater Manchester, analysing real-world data, identifying gaps in care and variation, assessing clinical and economic burden and impact on productivity. This will be undertaken in close partnership with health and care professionals and people living with migraine in Greater Manchester. By modelling the approach on Greater Manchester’s 3m [4] population, the programme has the potential to inform future care pathways that can be scaled nationally to better support people with migraine across the UK.​

References:

¹ The Migraine Trust, Stigma of migraine being ‘just a headache’ leading to thousands being dismissed and struggling without care https://migrainetrust.org/news/stigma-of-migraine-leading-to-thousands-struggling-without-care/

² National Migraine Centre, Most UK migraine patients wait over five years for effective treatment: https://www.nationalmigrainecentre.org.uk/news/most-uk-migraine-patients-wait-over-five-years-for-effective-treatment/

³ Work Foundation, Society’s headache: The socioeconomic impact of migraine: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/content-assets/documents/lums/work-foundation/SocietysHeadacheTheSocioeconomicimpactofmigraine.pdf

⁴ Office for National Statistics, Local indicators for Greater Manchester: https://www.ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics/areas/E47000001-greater-manchester/indicators#population-count