Meet the new Excellence Network Clinical Leads
Over the last few months, we have appointed 4 health professionals as our new Clinical Leads, to support the Parkinson's Excellence Network’s goals of improving care for people with Parkinson's.
We’re pleased to welcome Amanda, Tracey, Antonella and Sarah to the Excellence Network as Leads. Read on to get to know them and to find out about 2 new opportunities to join the team as a Regional Clinical Lead.
Your new National Clinical leads
Amanda and Tracey join the established Clinical Leadership Team providing strategic guidance and clinical expertise to the Excellence Network.
Get to know the rest of the Excellence Network Clinical Leadership team.
Amanda Hulejczuk, Co Clinical Lead for Nursing
Amanda is a Parkinson’s Nurse Consultant, leading the development of the Parkinson’s nurse led service for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. The service works in both the acute and community setting, offering broader access for patients.
Amanda has been a Parkinson’s specialist nurse for 24 years, making her an advocate for the role and its importance in the care and treatment of people with Parkinson’s.
Amanda hopes to use her experience to promote the importance of the Parkinson’s specialist nurse role across the UK, so that all people with Parkinson’s have the same access and quality of care, wherever they live.
Tracey Smith, Co Clinical Lead for Nursing
Tracey is a Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist currently practising as Lead Nurse in Neurology at the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.
In 2006, with her role having been pump primed by Parkinson’s UK, she developed the first Parkinson’s specialist nurse service for East and North Hertfordshire community services, becoming an independent nurse prescriber in 2008. In 2009, Tracey was a category winner in the Nursing Standard's awards for her innovative approach in supporting those caring for people with Parkinson’s.
Tracey hopes that by joining the Excellence Network Clinical Leadership Team, her knowledge and experience will empower people living with Parkinson’s and the healthcare professionals supporting them.
Your new Regional Clinical Leads
Earlier this year, we launched our new Regional Clinical Lead roles across England.
These will play a key role in the delivery of the Excellence Network’s new regional model for England, launched in September.
You can read more about the new model in England here.
We've been gradually recruiting the consultancy services of Regional Clinical Leads, with Antonella and Sarah being the first 2 professionals to take up these new roles in England.
We’re currently recruiting 2 more Regional Clinical Leads to lead their regional network in the South West of England and East of England. Applications close at midnight on Sunday 17 November, 2024.
Antonella Macerollo, Regional Clinical Lead for the North West
Antonella is a Consultant Neurologist at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester, and a Visiting Researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Having completed a PhD in Neuroscience at the University College of London, Antonella’s current areas of research include: neuroimaging biomarkers for early diagnosis; deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor; MRI guided focused ultrasound for tremor patients; and equality of access to functional neurosurgery for patients with movement disorders.
Speaking of her plans for the North West region, Antonella said: “I am thrilled to be starting in the role and look forward to meeting with many healthcare professionals across the North West and bringing them all together. I’m really excited to be holding our first virtual meeting in early December and we’re already beginning planning for our first in-person meeting across the region in April next year.”
Sarah Fraser, Regional Clinical Lead for the North East and Yorkshire
Sarah is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. She started her career 20 years ago in Kent, working with people with Parkinson’s. Eventually, the pull of the North Sea brought her home and she has since worked in NHS trusts in Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
Passionate about people with Parkinson’s receiving the very best care from all health professionals, she works closely with the multidisciplinary team in Gateshead, supporting people with Parkinson’s and related conditions in the area. As the new Regional Clinical Lead for the North East and Yorkshire, she finds hope in recent advancements in Parkinson’s research and looks forward to the day a cure is uncovered to help those living with Parkinson’s to live well.
Sarah said: "I’m really looking forward to getting started and bringing all of the amazing work of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network to our Parkinson’s community in the North East and Yorkshire."
Reflecting on these new appointments, Rowan Wathes, Associate Director of Policy & Health Strategy said:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Amanda, Tracey, Antonella and Sarah as Excellence Network leads. They each bring their own expertise and experience to their respective roles and are united in their passion for supporting the Parkinson’s community and ensuring that people with Parkinson’s receive the best possible care. We look forward to working with them over the next 3 years.”
More news for professionals
Keep up to date with what’s happening around the Excellence Network.