NICE guideline for Parkinson's disease
What is NICE?
NICE is the short name for the National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence that was set up in 1999 to:
- improve access to health care
- improve the quality of health care
Its guidelines include recommendations for all health care staff
(including doctors and nurses) on appropriate treatments, drugs,
therapies, services and all aspects of care.
What does NICE recommend?
The NICE Parkinson's Guideline makes recommendations to doctors,
nurses and other NHS professionals on the most clinically effective
and cost effective treatment they should be providing for the care
of people with Parkinson's.
NICE has identified in the guideline the following
recommendations as priorities for implementation:
Referral to expert for accurate diagnosis
People with suspected Parkinson's should be referred quickly
(within 6 weeks) and untreated to a specialist with expertise in
the differential diagnosis of this condition.
Expert review
The diagnosis of Parkinson's should be reviewed regularly (every 6
to 12 months).
Regular access to specialist nursing
People with Parkinson's should have regular access to the
following, which may be provided by a Parkinson's Disease Nurse
Specialist:
- monitoring and medication adjustment
- a continuing point of contact for support, including home
visits when needed
- a reliable source of information about clinical and social
matters of concern to people with Parkinson's and their carers
Access to physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and
occupational therapy
Physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy
should be available for people with Parkinson's.
Palliative care
Palliative care requirements should be considered in all phases of
the disease and people with Parkinson's and their carers should be
given the opportunity to discuss end-of-life issues with
appropriate healthcare professionals.
Who does the Parkinson's Guideline apply to?
The NICE Parkinson's Guideline covers England, Wales and Northern
Ireland.
Scotland has its own Guideline-making body – the Scottish
Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN). SIGN began to
develop its Parkinson's Guideline in May 2007. It is due to be
published in 2009.
The Parkinson's Disease Society is working with SIGN to develop the
guidance. We aim to ensure that it covers the full breadth of
services necessary for the diagnosis and management of
Parkinson's.
More information
The NICE Guideline for Parkinson's disease is available
from the NICE
website
Printed copies are available free from NHS response line. Call 0870
1555 455 and quote reference N1052.
Information for patients and carers
The Parkinson's Disease Society has produced a leaflet:
What you need to know about the NICE
guideline for Parkinson's disease (PDF, 153KB)
Copies of this leaflet are available to order (Code B112) -
order resources
Printed copies are available free from NHS response line. Call
0870 1555 455 and quote reference N1053.
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