Excellence Network funding: 2024 grant awards and 2024 to 2025 fellowships - the story so far
Here's a roundup of the latest activity in the world of Excellence Network funding.
Read on to discover which 8 projects are transforming Parkinson's services, and find out about our 4 latest advanced clinical training fellows and their plans.
Read about the grants awards here.
Find out about our latest fellows here.
8 projects awarded Excellence Network project grants funding in 2024
We're proud to announce that in 2024 we awarded £218,000 of funding to 8 incredible projects that aim to create improvements in UK health services.
As well as an increased amount of funding available for both the small and large grants scheme, we also introduced new learning opportunities and workshops to support applicants in developing their projects.
After reviewing 40 expressions of interest and 22 applications, 8 teams were successful in securing funding for a variety of themes. 41 people with Parkinson’s and health professionals supported us as reviewers and funding panel members.
Discover which projects were awarded grants in 2024
- Developing a collaborative Movement, Voice and Swallow Prehab Programme for people with Early Parkinson's from Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan. Awarded to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB).
- Translation of the "My Parkinson's" web application into Welsh. Awarded to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB).
- Maximising functionality and accessibility of an online Parkinson’s disease research register: Join Parkinson’s Research (JPR). Awarded to Newcastle University, Clinical Ageing Research Unit.
- Establishing a swallowing assessment and rehabilitation programme for people with Parkinson’s disease (pwPD) incorporating FEES, EMST and traditional swallow rehabilitation. Awarded to Bromley Healthcare.
- How does the Telea voice therapy app benefit an NHS Parkinson's clinic? Awarded to Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS), University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB).
- ''Connect and Conquer'': Optimising Physical Self-management in Parkinson’s. Awarded to Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CFT).
- Enhancing Parkinson’s Care: Speech Therapy Education and Rehabilitation Sessions. Awarded to Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT).
- Introduction of EMST to Adult Community SLT Parkinson’s service provision in Berkshire. Awarded to Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (BHFT).
We're thrilled to support these 8 outstanding projects and can't wait to see their overall impact and benefits to people living with Parkinson’s.
Since its launch in 2022, our project grants scheme has committed to invest over £517,000 to support statutory health services to run initiatives that will raise the standard of Parkinson’s care at local and national levels across the UK.
Projects funded in the past have created valuable results such as the development of a swallow screening tool for use in acute settings, and the redevelopment of a medical calculator. You can read about these projects here.
Deadline alert
Submit your online expression of interest for an Excellence Network large project grant (up to £60,000) by Wednesday 9 April 2025.
If eligible, you'll be invited to submit your application by Sunday 11 May 2025. Book a Q&A session to find out more and discuss your ideas.
Parkinson's advanced clinical training fellowships: a further £353,000 committed
The Parkinson's UK Excellence Network is making a strategic investment in 4 oustanding physicians to shape the future of Parkinson’s healthcare leadership through the Excellence Network Clinical Fellowship Scheme.
Teaming up with the British Geriatrics Society (BGS), the Association of British Neurologists’ Movement Disorders Special Interest Group (ABN MD-SIG), and current leaders in the field of mental health, we've awarded 4 fellowships this year to registrars in geriatrics, neurology and psychiatry.
This round's successful cohort aims to advance their clinical expertise in the treatment and management of Parkinson’s. Let's get to know this second wave of fellows!
Advanced Clinical Training Fellowship: Neurology
Awarded by Parkinson's UK in collaboration with the ABN-SIG.
Duncan aims to use his fellowship to advocate for the needs of people with severe and treatment-resistant Parkinson’s, striving to reinstate deep brain stimulation (DBS) services in the West Midlands. He hopes to “...establish an ongoing regional commitment to delivery of advanced therapies in Parkinson’s disease and related movement disorders” by highlighting exemplary practices to lay the foundation “to train the next generation of Parkinson’s experts.”
By focusing on the West Midlands’ diverse population, Duncan aims to “...explore how differences in lifestyle, environment, and genetics may affect Parkinson’s symptoms and treatment outcomes, aiming to apply research findings to a broader and more representative demographic.” Duncan also plans to expand his knowledge of advanced therapies, surgical management in Parkinson’s and the genetic and neuropsychiatric aspects of movement disorders.
Rebecca started her advanced clinical fellowship at Kings College Hospital (a centre of clinical excellence) in November 2024. She states that she is gaining expertise in managing a wide range of movement disorders, including exposure to advanced Parkinson’s treatments such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) and device-aided therapies, training in Botulinum toxin injections, and “...individualising the care that each patient with Parkinson’s requires.”
She aims to bridge knowledge gaps and excel in patient care and to enhance access to advanced treatments for the 2000 people with Parkinson’s served by East Kent Hospitals. Rebecca also plans to foster a partnership between Kings College Hospital and East Kent to optimise “...local management of movement disorders requiring advanced management strategies."
Advanced Clinical Training Fellowship: Geriatrics
Awarded by Parkinson's UK in collaboration with the British Geriatrics Society.
The British Geriatrics Society Movement Disorder Special Interest Group said, "We're delighted to collaborate with Parkinson’s UK for the second consecutive year in awarding one of these important fellowships. This funding is vital for junior doctors pursuing a career in geriatrics with a special interest in Parkinson's disease. We are grateful to Parkinson's UK for this opportunity to support our awardee in their future career, dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of older people."
Chris aspires to manage complexity in Parkinson’s at all stages of the condition through a collaborative fellowship training with 2 Parkinson’s specialist teams in the South West region.
He proposes to “...focus on neuro-palliative care, advanced therapies along with emerging treatments such as Pro Duodopa, and service development that would be beneficial to the region in the years to come.”
Chris plans to build relationships with a multidisciplinary range of Parkinson's specialists to create integrated, responsive services - possibly incorporating technological advances - for seamless patient communication and symptom monitoring.
Mental Health: Parkinson's Advanced Clinical Training Fellowship
Rebecca will draw on her neuropsychiatry background to enhance the management of mental health issues in Parkinson's, such as mood, anxiety, psychosis, and impulse control disorders. She states "The lack of dedicated neuropsychiatry services and the existing organisational barriers…” highlights the necessity to "...strengthen ties between neurology and psychiatry services…" leading to more effective collaboration and management of mental health symptoms in Parkinson’s.
Rebecca’s immediate goal is to “...improve access to specialist mental health care for people with Parkinson's," addressing the challenge they face in finding appropriate care within traditional mental health services.
Long-term the fellowship will allow Rebecca “...to assess the current level of need in terms of mental illness in Parkinson's in the region”, advocating “...for more funding and comprehensive services.”. She also aims to establish a "multidisciplinary team clinic” for complex psychiatric cases and to develop a dedicated clozapine treatment pathway for people with Parkinson's disease psychosis.
Join us in sending best wishes to the fellows as they get ready to start their advanced clinical training paths in our shared mission to improve the quality of Parkinson’s care.
6 fellowships were awarded in the 2023 to 2024 round and the fellows are making great strides through their training. You can read about the objectives of the previous successful fellows here.
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