Uniting people to discuss increasing the Parkinson’s workforce

People with Parkinson’s are waiting a long time to access care nationwide, mainly due to the severe workforce shortages impacting the NHS. 

In November 2022, Parkinson’s UK launched the Can’t Wait campaign calling on the government to grow and upskill the Parkinson’s workforce in England. 

In last November’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced the UK government would publish a workforce strategy for the NHS in England this year.

Workforce round table

This week Parkinson’s UK held a round table event that brought together health leaders, clinicians, people with Parkinson’s and carer partners to discuss solutions to the challenges faced by the Parkinson’s workforce. Key themes emerged:

• More needs to be done to retain existing health professionals and make them feel valued.
• The understanding of Parkinson’s needs to be improved, across health and care settings and using different ways to share learning.
• It's important to have specialists who understand Parkinson’s and how it impacts people living with the condition and their care partners.
• We need more detailed data on the Parkinson’s workforce and to understand how we can use it to drive improvements in the quality of care for people with the condition. 
• We must make research a core part of all health professionals’ roles.

Garth Ravenhill, a former nurse who lives with Parkinson’s, shared his experiences of the challenges he faced getting timely access to appropriate physiotherapy for back pain: 

"I found the round table event very interesting and informative. It is humbling to hear various healthcare professionals talking about ways to improve how people with Parkinson’s can live their lives. 

"I hope the government listens to what we say and takes action. We must not be afraid of the changes we need to make."

Camille Carroll, a consultant neurologist from Plymouth and Joint Clinical Director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network, explained the need to tackle the existing workforce challenges so that every person with Parkinson’s can benefit from excellent multidisciplinary care:

"Good care means getting the right care delivered by the right people with the right skills at the right time. 

"For most people living with Parkinson’s, this is not the reality. With such a complex condition, the ‘right people’ are a range of skilled professionals from different disciplines. However, there are challenges with workforce numbers, specialist training, access to care and communication. 

"We discussed solutions within our collective (government, commissioners, providers, practitioners, researchers, innovators and patients) grasp. If we work together, we can make these changes a reality."

Next steps

Parkinson’s UK will send a joint letter to the Health Secretary with the shared priorities from the round table to boost the Parkinson’s workforce, signed by organisations represented at the event. 

How you can get involved

• Visit the Can't Wait page to find out more about our campaign and how you can get involved.
• Write to the health secretary to consult with us on the workforce plan to ensure it delivers the key professionals needed to provide timely access to high-quality care for people with Parkinson’s. 
• Write to your local integrated care board asking what plans they have to ensure they have enough Parkinson's professionals and how they'll educate their workforce on the condition.
• If you have had difficulty accessing health services, please share your story as part of our campaign.