Hospital care for Parkinson’s patients ‘frustrating and scandalous’

Patients with Parkinson’s disease are being subjected to a “frustrating and scandalous” level of care when admitted to hospital, a charity has warned.

According to Parkinson’s UK, some people with the condition even feel forced to smuggle their regular medication onto wards.

The research was released as the charity launched an awareness campaign to help Scots with the degenerative condition to feel more in control of their lives.

In the survey, 47% of patients said they were denied regular access to the medication that keeps their condition under control. This has led to some smuggling their drugs onto wards.

The charity said 59% claimed this situation had a significant impact on their health, and seven in ten reported increased anxiety while in hospital because of the difficulties around getting their medication.

Meanwhile, over a third (35%) of people with Parkinson’s reported that hospital staff had a poor understanding of the importance of giving medication for the condition on time

Gerry McCann, from Easterhouse in Glasgow, was diagnosed with the condition 17 years ago at the age of 35. He now takes medication nine times a day to keep his Parkinson’s under control.

If he misses a dose even by ten minutes, Gerry says his symptoms increase severely. Speaking to STV, he said that in the past hospital staff have failed to understand the critical nature of this timeframe.

Steve Ford, chief executive at Parkinson’s UK, said: “Nurses tell us they receive an hour, at most, of specialised Parkinson’s training.

“This fundamental lack of education has resulted in people with the condition being so terrified by their previous experiences in hospital that they smuggle in their medication.”

The charity is now calling for hospitals to allow patients to self-administer their medicines.

Mr Ford added: “Around 70% of hospitals and health boards across the UK have a system in place that would allow people with Parkinson’s to do just that.

“Yet it is clear that these processes simply aren’t being implemented.”

The campaign, Get It On Time, is being highlighted throughout Parkinson’s Awareness Week (April 7-13) and comes just days after the death of veteran Scottish politician Margo MacDonald, who had the condition.

Source STV