The Clinical Leadership Team for the Parkinson's Excellence Network
The Clinical Leadership Team steers the Excellence Network, providing strategic guidance and clinical expertise. The Team helps us accelerate progress towards our vision of high quality multidisciplinary care for everyone with Parkinson's.
Meet the Clinical Leadership Team
The Excellence Network’s Clinical Leadership Team was first formed in 2018, marking an important development for the Network. The Team comprises expert doctors and nurses, a specialist physiotherapist, and members of the Parkinson’s community, reflecting the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in improving Parkinson’s services.
Find out more about each of the leads, their individual backgrounds and their experience of working in Parkinson’s.
Camille Carroll, Joint Clinical Director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network
Professor Camille Carroll is Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the Translational and Clinical Research Institute of Newcastle University and at the Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth; and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the University of Plymouth. Since 2015, she has led the award winning Parkinson’s service in Plymouth and was awarded the Tom Isaacs Award in 2021 in recognition of her patient centred approach. With her, she brings national leadership experience as the National Specialty Lead for Neurodegenerative Diseases for the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network (CRN). Her research interests include neuroprotective trials for Parkinson’s and digital innovations for personalised care. Alongside Professor Richard Walker, Camille was appointed as Joint Clinical Director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network in 2022 and she is committed to ensuring services are centred on the needs of people with Parkinson’s and their families.
Richard Walker, Joint Clinical Director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network
Professor Richard Walker, Consultant Physician at North Tyneside General Hospital and Honorary Professor of Ageing and International Health at Newcastle University is the Joint Clinical Director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network. Richard has over 20 years’ experience of looking after people with Parkinson’s, and was previously Chair of the British Geriatrics Society Movement Disorders Section. Throughout his career, Richard has pushed the boundaries of Parkinson’s clinical research. He is currently supervising a PhD investigating the prevalence of Parkinson’s in North Cumbria and is also the chief investigator on a Parkinson’s UK funded project exploring the benefits of a wearable device on the management of Parkinson’s symptoms. Prior to becoming Clinical Director in 2022, Richard was the Excellence Network Clinical Lead for Medicine.
Jonny Acheson, Director of Engagement
Dr Jonny Acheson is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at The University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) and has lived with Parkinson’s for the last 6 years. Having “experienced both sides”, Jonny hopes to raise the profile of Parkinson’s care and engage the wider Parkinson’s community in the work of the Excellence Network. His postgraduate Emergency Medicine education work from 2012 to 2015 was recognised nationally when the UHL Education Team, which he led, was awarded a Health Service Journal award in 2016. He was appointed as an Honorary Associate Professor in Medical Education in the same year. Since 2018, Jonny has been using his Twitter profile (@jonny_acheson) to educate others about Parkinson’s, often through his brilliant drawings and artwork.
Patsy Cotton, Clinical Lead for Innovation
Patsy Cotton is a Parkinson’s Specialist Nurse at the NHS Greater Manchester Neurosciences Centre, where she and her team are well known for their award winning Parkinson's care. With over 23 years experience in the role, Patsy is passionate about ensuring people with Parkinson’s get their medication on time, every time, while in hospital. She currently chairs the Excellence Network’s Time critical Parkinson's medications (Get It On Time) national priority programme. This involves working closely with people with Parkinson’s to share their stories and experiences of medication management in hospital and also engaging with key NHS workers across England.
Fiona Lindop, Clinical Lead for Therapy
Fiona Lindop is a Specialist Physiotherapist, working in the Parkinson’s multidisciplinary team at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. She has worked in the field of Parkinson’s for over 25 years and developed the Lindop Parkinson's Physiotherapy Assessment Scale, a physiotherapy specific measurement tool designed to assess the gait and bed mobility of people with Parkinson's. Fiona coordinates and teaches on national education courses in Parkinson’s for allied health professionals (AHPs) in Derby. She recently helped launch the Excellence Network’s first Therapist Induction.
Jane Rideout, Clinical Lead for User Involvement
Jane Rideout brings valuable lived experience to the Clinical Leadership Team. Before being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2008, she worked in IT management and sales and marketing roles. In 2013, Jane began volunteering for Parkinson’s UK, with volunteer roles including peer support, hosting Parkinson’s UK’s First Steps programme and as a local support group coordinator. Jane became involved with the Excellence Network in 2015, before joining the Clinical Leadership Team in 2018. She was previously the Regional Lead of the South West Peninsular Local Parkinson’s Excellence Network for just over 4 years.