Campaign success as new NHS England programme launches to get medication delivered on time in hospital

What is the issue? 

People living with Parkinson’s need their medication on time. A delay of as little as 30 minutes can mean the difference between functioning well and being unable to move, walk, talk or swallow.

And it’s not just Parkinson’s. People living with conditions such as epilepsy and diabetes also need their medication on time. Otherwise, there could be severe implications for their health and wellbeing.

What have we been doing?

Last year, as part of our Get It On Time campaign, we published our "Every minute counts" report, which found that only 42% of people with Parkinson’s admitted to hospitals in England received their medication on time every time.

Read our "Every minute counts" report (PDF, 4.3MB).

Data from Freedom of Information requests sent to NHS Hospital Trusts in England by Parkinson’s UK found:

• Just half (52%) of NHS trusts provide staff with training on time-critical medication.
• 1 in 4 NHS trusts in England do not have policies allowing people with Parkinson’s to take their own medication in hospitals.
• NHS trusts are not required to monitor or report missed or delayed medication doses and so are unaware of the need to take action.

At the same time as publishing our report, we released a joint statement with other charities whose communities rely on time critical medication and health professional bodies calling on the government to take action on this issue. Read the joint statement (PDF, 293KB).

Following meetings with the national medical director of NHS England, an emergency summit on time critical medication, and tireless campaigning by the Parkinson’s community, we're pleased that NHS England has committed to a national improvement programme to tackle this problem.

What is the programme? 

The programme will run from 2024 to 2027 and is part of the National Patient Safety Strategy. It will address the most important causes of severe harm to patients. A key ambition of the programme will be to improve care for people by making sure they receive the critical medication they need on time.

Over the next year, the programme will be designed with people with lived experience and front-line teams before being made available to all NHS Trusts. Find out more about the programme on the NHS England website.

We will work with our community, partner charities and NHS England to help make sure this programme delivers change for people with Parkinson’s and others who rely on getting their time critical medication on time in hospital.

What will it mean for the Parkinson’s community?

Barrie, who lives with Parkinson’s, said:
"I kept telling the hospital staff how important it was for me to get my medication on time, but I wasn’t listened to. The delays had a serious impact on my health. I couldn’t walk properly, I struggled to swallow, and the anxiety was overwhelming. 

"Missing doses isn’t just inconvenient, it’s dangerous for people like me living with Parkinson’s. I hope this new NHS programme will make sure others don’t have to go through what I did."

Watch Barrie's full story on YouTube.

Juliet Tizzard, Director of External Relations at Parkinson’s UK, said:
"We’re delighted that NHS England has committed to a 3-year national medicines safety improvement programme that includes a new ambition on time critical medication. It will give NHS services in England vital evidence so that they can make tangible improvements on the ground. 

"We’re looking forward to working with NHS England to make sure people who depend on time critical medication see the hospital as a safe place to be."

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said:  
"People who need time critical medicines should be able to receive them on time and safely when in hospital. This is particularly important for people with Parkinson’s, and we welcome the report produced by Parkinson’s UK, which highlights this.

"We have included time critical medicines as part of the National Patient Safety Strategy, and we are very committed to this work and our partnership with the coalition of charities led by Parkinson’s UK."