Parkinson medication is time critical

Parkinson’s UK are currently running a Get it on Time campaign highlighting that even a 10-minute delay can affect people, and could lead to them being unable to move, speak, eat or swallow, or have uncontrolled movements and hallucinations. It can take weeks to stabilise someone’s symptoms.

After meeting local health professionals Paul said: “There are thought to be 228 people living with Parkinson’s in the Scottish Borders at the moment.

“What we heard was that those individuals are at risk of becoming seriously unwell if they don’t receive their medication precisely on time when they are in hospital, or when receiving social care at home or in a care home.

“I recently met local healthcare professionals from the region at a Parkinson’s UK event in the Scottish Parliament and was concerned to learn that people can often receive their Parkinson’s medication at the wrong times – perhaps where there are inflexible timings for medicine rounds in a ward - despite the fact that, in particular, this can make people with Parkinson’s very unwell.

“I heard that for patients with advanced symptoms this is particularly important.

“Hospitals and care homes must be capable of being seen as safe havens for people with Parkinson’s and I have written to NHS Borders to ask what procedures and practices they have in place to ensure that people with Parkinson’s get their medication on time, every time and also to enquire as to plans to invest in specialist nursing provision, given Borders has growing numbers of people being diagnosed.”