Transcript - Protect Parkinson's nurses campaign video
Take part in our campaign to protect
Parkinson's nurses in England. Together we can fight to protect
front-line Parkinson's nurses from cuts.
Protect Parkinson's nurses campaign video
Voice-over: Parkinson's nurses are vital frontline staff
that save the NHS money by designing innovative services that
reduce demand on consultant time, hospital admissions and time
spent in hospital.
Parkinson's UK is deeply concerned that specialist Parkinson's
nurses - who can save the NHS in England more than £42million
a year - are at risk of being cut.
John: And having the Parkinson's disease nurse
specialist was invaluable. It offers you another point of contact
and also they are trained to understand the symptoms of Parkinson's
and the effects that it can have on your day-to-day life.
Louisa: I have a very good Parkinson's nurse
and she is on hand 24/7. All I have to do is just give her a call
and say I'm having a really bad time of it. She'll either talk to
me on the phone. Bless her, because the thing is there's
only - there aren't many of them and they're very thinly
spread.
But she'll always endeavour to get back to me that day and then
I can talk to her either on the phone and say this is what's
happening what can I do? Or she'll even come and see me if I'm
having a particularly bad time, she'll come and see me at home.
But she is invaluable really because she's the only one apart
from the neurologist who is hands-on. She'll come to your home,
she'll see lots of different people with all the same problems so
she's far more knowledgeable than most are.
Voice-over: 21% of the Parkinson's nurses we
heard from in England told us that their post is threatened.
Steve Ford, Chief Executive: But losing
Parkinson's nurses will actually cost the NHS money. We know
through all of our work that Parkinson's nurses, through the work
that they do in reducing hospital admissions, keeping people
independent in their own homes, actually save the NHS money.
Voice-over: Parkinson's nurses are essential
for delivering expert, accessible care for people with Parkinson's
at all stages of the condition.
Stella, Parkinson's nurse: Parkinson's nurses
are important for patients with Parkinson's because they're often
the person they can easily get hold of by email or by telephone.
The nurse specialist works closely with the multi-disciplinary team
members and has easy access to referring the patient on to people
they need to see. They're also a source of information and
support.
Voice-over: More than a quarter of Parkinson's
nurses in England are having to withdraw vital parts of their
service, such as home visits, because of NHS cuts. 1
in 5 nurses report caseloads of over 700 people - more
than double the recommended 300.
Steve Ford: The trouble is that the NHS doesn't
fully understand the value of these nurses. And with the financial
challenges happening at the moment, we're worried that all of the
investment, all of the progress that has been made is going to be
undone.
We've produced a guide for the NHS that summarises all of the
evidence of the value of Parkinson's nurses and gives advice and
support to make sure that they can be investing in these services
at such a crucial time.
So please take part in our campaign to help us protect
Parkinson's nurses.
Voice-over: Visit our website at parkinsons.org.uk/faircare to take part now.
Together we can fight to protect front-line Parkinson's nurses.
In this section
Share your experiences of Parkinson's nurses - or tell us why
you need one
Add your comments to our map and
help us show what a difference Parkinson's nurses make across the
whole of the UK.
Tell us what your nurse means to you. Or tell us why you need a
Parkinson's nurse.
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