Description

Service provision for Parkinson ’s Disease must take account of the progressive nature of the illness, the erratic fluctuations in disability and the broad range of physical and cognitive problems which occur. Specialist medical monitoring is essential to get the medication right but a purely medical model of care is increasingly inadequate as patients progress through the diagnosis, maintenance, complex, and palliative stages of the illness. A broad approach is needed to address the many practical difficulties experienced daily by patients and carers despite the drugs. Many aspects are generic to other chronic conditions, such as the need for information on services and allowances, carer support and help with managing common symptoms such as constipation. In addition, specific rehabilitation strategies are based on an understanding of basal ganglia function and what goes wrong in PD. The PD Nurse Specialist is ideally suited to ensure on-going monitoring and facilitate communication between Primary and Secondary Care.