Joint campaign for specialist nurses
24 February 2010
We have joined forces with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and
other leading health organisations to campaign for guaranteed
access to specialist nurses for all people with long-term
conditions, including Parkinson's.
Parkinson's nurses are critical to the care of people living with the condition, but the current postcode lottery of care means that many people are missing out.
Lesley Carter, our Head of Influence and Service Development
Ahead of the general election, the RCN warns that cutting
specialist nurse services for people with long term conditions
would be a "false economy".
During the deficits crisis in 2006, many specialist roles were
lost, frozen or downgraded. However, through the evidence we were
able to provide to support the need for the roles, very few
Parkinson's nurses were affected.
How do specialist nurses help people with Parkinson's?
Parkinson's nurses help people manage their medication, offer
advice and information about living with Parkinson's and offer
emotional support to both the patient and their carer.
They also offer the local health organisation opportunities to
innovate how care is delivered.
Specialist nurses save millions of pounds from health and social
care budgets through reduced complications, fewer hospital
readmissions and the expert long term management of conditions.
Examples of savings which can be delivered by Parkinson's nurses
include the £56million a year on health and social care for people
with Parkinson's.
Parkinson's nurses for everyone
Lesley Carter, our Head of Influence and Service Development,
comments:
"Parkinson's nurses are critical to the care of people living
with the condition, but the current postcode lottery of care means
that many people with Parkinson's are missing out.
"Our Fair Care for Parkinson's
campaign is designed to make sure that everyone with Parkinson's
has access to a Parkinson's nurse wherever they live in the UK. And
we will continue to campaign on a national and local level.
"This is why we are supporting the RCN's call to make sure any
future government guarantees access to specialist nursing care for
everyone with a long-term condition, including people with
Parkinson's."
Find out more about our campaign for
specialist Parkinson's nurses
Fair Care for Parkinson's
- email
-
Share