MP Mary Glindon column: Moves to help people with Parkinson's

It is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative condition in the world.

That will be about 265 people with the condition in North Tyneside and then you have to add in their families to understand the deep impact on many lives here.

People often feel that something is wrong and the condition often strikes at about the age of 60 but people then survive to near normal ages though their quality of life can be severely impacted.

Prominent people with Parkinson’s include the BBC’s Jeremy Paxman and Michael J Fox of the Back to the Future films who were diagnosed at the ages of 70 and 29 respectively.

As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Parkinson’s I co-operate with the respected Parkinson’s UK charity.

It recently put a great effort into a national campaign alerting the public to how people are living with the condition and what the NHS needs to do to help.

After 13 years of austerity and then the impact of the Covid pandemic, the NHS is falling short on important measures to manage the condition.

People endure huge waiting times for diagnosis, mental health support, check-ups, and medication reviews due to shortages of NHS staff. Nearly half of consultant geriatricians in England will retire within the next ten years.

Medical professionals should routinely update their knowledge but a fifth of consultants have not done so in the last five years.

We need long-term investment in university capacity and medical school and training places as well as measures to recruit professionals.

The Parkinson’s UK helpline is 0808 800 0303 and their website is at https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/living-parkinsons