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Parkinson’s Specialist Service

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder characterised by tremors, muscle stiffness and slower movements but can also involve non motor symptoms such as anxiety, depression, sleep issues and constipation. The condition occurs when a small group of nerve cells in the brain no longer produce enough dopamine. This is a chemical that transmits messages from the brain to other parts of the body enabling people to perform smooth, coordinated, movements. Parkinson’s affects all kinds of people but is most common in those over the age of sixty.

Around 10% of people under fifty are diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

This service has been designed to help meet the needs of people in the Plymouth, West Devon, and South Hams areas, who are living with Parkinson’s and related disorders.

Referrals can be made via a GP in those areas but are also welcome from members of health and social care teams. Our referral inclusion and exclusion criteria can be found below.

Inclusion – over eighteen years old

  • Confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, multi-system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy and cortical basal degeneration and Parkinson’s disease dementia.
  • Lives within the Plymouth, West Devon or South Hams Livewell catchment area.
  • Willing to engage with Parkinson’s service.

Exclusion

  • Lewy body dementia
  • Vascular parkinsonism
  • Alzheimer’s disease

This service is delivered by two specialist and experienced Livewell Southwest nurses, in conjunction with the wider local Parkinson’s specialist network. There are various care pathways available to ensure individual needs are met. For example, those that are newly diagnosed are initially supported by the Derriford Parkinson’s team for the first few months of diagnosis. They will then be referred to our team at Livewell.

We have a medical secretary who works Monday – Thursday each week and will be in charge of handling calls and emails to the service.

The role of the Community Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist is to provide people with information about the condition, ensure that the person is on their optimal treatment plan, help enable the person and their families to make informed choices about their care, and to signpost to other agencies when needed. Both Parkinson’s Nurse Specialists are non-medical prescribers with strong links to the research community.

If you would like more information on Parkinson’s, local news on groups or general advice, please visit our website app here: https://gb.visibacare.com/livewell/community_care/parkinsons-nurse-service

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How to contact us

For further information on the Parkinson’s Nurse Service, please phone 01752 434237 or email [email protected].

The Specialist Parkinson’s Nurses work Monday- Friday, 9am-5pm.

Alternatively, you can contact the Parkinson’s UK helpline for general advice on 0808 800 0303 or email [email protected].

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