Some 94% of people with Parkinson's were able to access a Parkinson's specialist nurse, according to the largest ever Parkinson's services audit.
The audit was developed by the UK Parkinson's Excellence Network to address the concerns of professionals, patients and their representatives and to assess the quality of care provided to people with Parkinson's.
While the majority of people who completed the survey were able to access a Parkinson’s nurse, 74.6% reported that they could contact their Parkinson’s nurse for advice between review appointments, resulting in a lack of access to support for significant periods of time.
Jacqueline Young, nursing lead for the UK Parkinson’s Audit, said: 'We know the huge impact Parkinson’s nurses have on the lives of people living with the condition, so it is great to see that the overwhelming majority of people have access to a specialist nurse.
'Parkinson’s nurse posts have demonstrated significant savings to the NHS. On average a nurse can save £43,812 in reducing the number of consultant appointments, £80,000 in unplanned hospital admissions and £147,021 in days spent in hospital by providing care in local settings. All this maintains patients’ quality of life, while ensuring costly emergency hospital admission and crises are kept at a minimum.'
Ms Young said that these results reveal 'a lot to be proud of' but the audit is also a call to action to ensure best practice across Parkinson’s care is in place for people living with Parkinson’s in the UK.
The audit reported on the care provided to 8846 people living with Parkinson's.