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Thousands of people with Parkinson’s are being routinely denied access to vital medication in hospitals across England – leading to significant health problems, new data uncovered by Catherine McKinnell MP reveals today.

New statistics from the Department of Health showed that from January 2013 to December 2014 people with Parkinson’s were subject to over 3,300 avoidable medication errors in hospitals across England – with almost 600 of these causing discernible harm which can include increased pain, severe rigidity and hallucinations.

Medication is a lifeline for people with Parkinson’s. If they don’t get it at specific times throughout the day their condition can deteriorate significantly within a matter of hours, sometimes leading to irreparable damage to their health and resulting in considerable additional costs to the NHS.

Terry Walsh, 54, from London, was admitted to hospital in November 2013.  Terry said;

“It was always touch and go whether I got my medicine on time and there was a complete lack of understanding of Parkinson’s among many of the nurses. I was helpless and completely out of control of my own illness – it felt like being in prison.  My symptoms significantly worsened over the time I was there – picking things up, drinking, and eating became especially difficult.

“In the last few days I was allowed to self-medicate which made things a lot easier because I had at least some control over the situation, but I still had to ask a nurse to unlock the medicine cabinet by my bed. When you’re trying to get through your day thinking ‘will they remember’ it makes you so anxious and seems to take over your whole day. The whole experience was quite frightening and has made me very nervous about going to hospital in future.”

As part of their Get It On Time campaign, Parkinson’s UK is calling on the Government and NHS to take urgent action to reduce these preventable errors by ensuring staff have a basic understanding of the condition and empowering people with Parkinson’s to take their own medication while in hospital when possible.

Steve Ford, Chief Executive at Parkinson’s UK said;

“These new figures confirm that thousands of people with Parkinson’s are being subjected to substandard and sometimes dangerous standards of care when in hospital. All too often people with Parkinson’s tell us how terrified they are of going into hospital because they fear their drugs will be taken away from them. Medication is the only way people with Parkinson’s can keep their condition under control, often taking as many as 25 tablets a day as part of a strict regime just to be able to move or communicate with those around them.

“Worryingly, these medication errors are only the tip of the iceberg, because of a general lack of understanding about how Parkinson’s is managed – many medication errors often go unreported, meaning significantly more people with the condition will have been affected.

“Medication errors can have a devastating physical and psychological impact not only on the health of people with Parkinson’s, but their families and carers too who then have to pick up the pieces.  It is essential that people with Parkinson’s get their medication on time, every time, wherever they are. Anything less isn’t acceptable. ”

Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North and Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, is backing the Get it on Time campaign. She said:

“I know from meeting with members from the Newcastle branch of Parkinson’s UK why getting medication on time is so important for people with Parkinson’s.

‘These worrying new figures highlight the fact that there are thousands of incidents each year in our hospitals, often completely avoidable, where patients with Parkinson’s are not getting their medication on time which is often hugely damaging. Sometimes irreversibly so.

‘For people with Parkinson’s, their medication is often their only lifeline and that is why it is so important that patients are able to get their medication on time, every time, especially when in the care of the NHS.”

Parkinson's UK Newcastle branch 16-05-2014

Catherine meeting with Newcastle Parkinson’s UK members in 2014

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