1 in 5 people with Parkinson's are without access to a
Parkinson's nurse
16 August 2011
Almost one fifth (18%) of people newly
diagnosed with Parkinson's were not offered specialist nurse contact details, even though
the service is available in their area, according to our annual Parkinson's audit.
This is a key element of the National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for Parkinson's. It means
that, of the 53 healthcare trusts who took part in our 2010
audit, almost one in 10 are not meeting guidelines for the
condition.
Fair Care for Parkinson's
We want everyone affected by Parkinson's to have access to the services they need
Val Buxton, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Information
This is a key focus of our Fair Care for
Parkinson's campaign to make sure that people with Parkinson's get access to the services they
need, wherever they live.
The audit measures services against NICE Guidelines.
It's designed to highlight areas where improvements need to be
made and encourage the trusts to make these changes.
Access to information
The audit also found:
- that more than a third (40%) of Parkinson's patients were not
offered any take-home information about the condition
- a low level of understanding among professionals about the importance of non-drug therapies, such as physiotherapy
- that more than 1 in 6 (16%) trusts do not have access
to expert physiotherapy – something which our 2008 members' survey revealed to be a top
priority for people with Parkinson's
Promising improvements
Val Buxton, our Director of Policy, Campaigns and Information,
comments:
"People with Parkinson's should have access to a range of
specialised services but a significant number are not receiving the
care they need.
Our 2010 audit reveals some promising improvements for
Parkinson's services but there is still a great deal to be
done.
"We want everyone affected by Parkinson's to have access to the
services they need.
"Timely access to specialist nurses and therapists and signposting to the information
and support provided by Parkinson's UK can play a major role in
helping people to manage their condition and stay independent."
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