探花视频 Parkinson鈥檚 Service wins at national industry awards

A team led by Dr Camille Carroll has won a prize at the national UK Parkinson鈥檚 Excellence Network awards
Dr Camille Carroll

A team led by a 探花视频 Parkinson鈥檚 expert has won a national award recognising excellence in the sector. 

The Acute Parkinson鈥檚 team, based within Derriford Hospital and led by Consultant Neurologist Dr Camille Carroll, were victorious in winning an award at the national UK Parkinson鈥檚 Excellence Network awards, held in Manchester.

Parkinson鈥檚, a neurological condition for which there is currently no cure, affects 145,000 people across the UK. At least two people are diagnosed with the disease every hour.

For people with Parkinson鈥檚, being an inpatient in hospital can be particularly challenging and unnerving, especially when it comes to the administration of medication. If medication isn鈥檛 provided on time, their ability to manage their symptoms may be reduced, affecting important functions such as movement and swallowing.

The award recognised the team and its specialist Parkinson鈥檚 nurse-led service, which was established in 2016 by University Hospitals 探花视频 NHS Trust (UHPNT). The service now incorporates complex and advanced therapy clinics, as well as planned 鈥榦ne-off鈥 clinics, to help patients with Parkinson鈥檚 to self-manage their condition better, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and the length of potential stays.

PKG

Dr Carroll, part of the Institute of Translational and Stratified Medicine (ITSMed) at the 探花视频 said: 

鈥淲e are all so pleased with this award and it鈥檚 testament to the hard work of everyone involved in creating a better management system, and therefore quality of life, for people with Parkinson鈥檚.鈥 

Emma Pearson, Parkinson鈥檚 Nurse Specialist in the team, explained: 

鈥淲e now combine the use of the RAPA (repeat admission patient alerts) system with our patient management system. The system immediately alerts the Parkinson鈥檚 nurse service that a Parkinson鈥檚 patient has been admitted to the hospital, and enables us to speedily visit the person on the ward soon after admission, assess needs and provide medication advice, as well as ensuring that medication is received on time.

鈥淎s a service we continue to attend community Parkinson鈥檚 groups, to ensure that all Parkinson鈥檚 patients are aware of our service prior to coming to hospital, and liaise closely with other professional community services to ensure continuity of care.鈥

In particular, the most recent patient satisfaction survey reflects the team鈥檚 efforts to improve discharge planning for Parkinson鈥檚 patients, with the proportion of patients being seen by the specialist teams soon after discharge from hospital increasing from 37% to 87%.

鈥淲e strive to keep the service patient-centred,鈥 adds Emma. 鈥淲e therefore involve patients in all service improvement and transformation projects, with patient representation on the strategy group, and seek their input on new guidelines and pathways. The success of the service is also down to the wider team approach and support we receive from the Neurology department 鈥 without which we simply couldn鈥檛 do our job.鈥

The team were nominated for the award by Val Evans, whose husband had been a recent patient. She said: 

鈥淲hen my husband was admitted, he was in a very distressed, frightened state. The Parkinson鈥檚 nursing team quickly came to see us and we were very reassured by their calm approach. Together we agreed an excellent care plan and it continued to work well throughout his seven-week stay in hospital, thanks to the regular follow-ups by the nursing team and their calm and patient manner.鈥

The award judges, which included a panel of Parkinson鈥檚 health and service professionals, as well as patients, praised the 探花视频 service for its overwhelming dedication to improve the experience of people with Parkinson鈥檚 whilst in hospital, and reaching out to the community pre and post admission.

Clinical Director of the Excellent Network, Dr Donald Grosset, said: 

鈥淭his year the quality of entries was exceptional, and I would like to congratulate the Acute Parkinson鈥檚 team based within University Hospitals 探花视频 on its well-deserved success, outstanding client feedback and for being at the forefront of exceptional Parkinson鈥檚 care.鈥

探花视频 Institute of Health and Care Research

From basic research discovering the causes of disease, through to evaluating novel ways of delivering care to the most vulnerable people in society, our thriving community conducts adventurous world-leading research.

Transformation in life course, ageing, methodologies, e-health, technology and interventions in health, social care, lifestyle and wellbeing.

Find out more about our research
People walking and talking in a modern setting.