'Get it on time' campaign background
We launched our
'Get it on time' campaign in April 2006 to make sure that people
with Parkinson's in hospitals get their medication on time - every
time.
Why is this so important?
When patients don't get their medication on time their
Parkinson's symptoms become uncontrolled and they can become very
ill.
The main treatment for Parkinson's is medication and there are
specific drugs which work by replacing or mimicking the actions of
dopamine, the chemical that is depleted in the brain.
If a person with Parkinson's is unable to take their prescribed
medication at the right time, the balance of chemicals in their
brains can be severely disrupted – leading to the symptoms of the
condition becoming uncontrolled.
Because people with Parkinson's and their families are so aware
of the importance of taking medication on time, their drug regime
is easily managed when they are at home or at work. However, if
they are admitted to hospital, it can be difficult to maintain the
timing of their drugs.
The importance of medicines' management has been a major worry
for people with Parkinson's for many years and the 'Get it on time'
campaign has given a UK-wide voice to their concerns.
Understanding the problems: nurses' survey
Research carried out amongst specialist Parkinson's nurses
confirmed that serious problems existed around medicines'
management in hospitals in the UK. Findings from the study of 81
nurses (40% of all Parkinson's nurses) showed that:
- not a single nurse believed that patients with Parkinson's were
guaranteed to receive their medication on time
- 7 out of 10 nurses said that people with Parkinson's could not
rely on getting their medication on time
- 9 out of 10 nurses felt that patients with Parkinson's
can experience clinical problems or an extended hospital stay as a
result of missed or late administration of their
medication
Understanding the problems: the carer's story
One carer, whose husband was admitted to hospital with deep vein
thrombosis in 2001, described the nurse's response to his request
to self-medicate.
"Each fresh ward sister bustled suspiciously up to my husband
demanding to know why he was medicating himself, what drugs he was
taking and when. We must have given them the list half a dozen
times ... their attitude was certainly not accommodating.
"It was only towards the end of his 8-day stay, that they seemed
to accept that he was managing his own treatment of
Parkinson's.
"People who may have other health problems as well as
Parkinson's, whose family are unable to be around as much as I was,
or are nervous about speaking their mind, may well be intimidated
into following the hospital's regime, with a consequently bad
effect on their Parkinson's and its effective treatment."
Understanding the problems: Yorkshire couple take PCT to
task
Grace and George Spencer of Barnsley are big supporters of the
'Get it on time' campaign and have been working hard to improve
things in their local hospital.
Grace was admitted to hospital on one occasion for a chest
infection and, on the first day, was receiving her medication up to
an hour late each time. This meant that her Parkinson's symptoms -
usually controlled by the medication - got worse, so her body
started to become rigid and it became difficult for her to control
her movements. Subsequently, she became stressed and panicky,
making her recovery much more difficult.
On Grace's discharge from hospital, George took the matter up
with the board of the Primary Care Trust. It resulted in a
partnership being struck between Boots the chemist and the
hospital, to provide bum bags to patients with Parkinson's, to
store their medication and administer it themselves.
Despite this, there is variation in hospitals across the region
and within hospitals on the procedures in place to administer
Parkinson's medication. Many people are still struggling to get it
on time.
It is hoped that with the 'Get it on time' washbag, more people
with Parkinson's will be well prepared for a hospital stay and the
advice within it will help them deal with problems in hospital, as
and when they arise.
Read how the 'Get it on time' campaign
has successfully improved hospital experiences around the
UK
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