Yorkshire and Humber Excellence Network meeting: a focus on integrated care, the 'UP Study' and exercise

Organised and led by Dr Jane Liddle, Dr Tom Mace and Helen Prentice, joint leads of the Yorkshire and Humber Local Parkinson's Excellence Network, the meeting was an all-day event, enabling delegates from a wide range of disciplines and health trusts to learn and network with their colleagues in the region.

An introduction to The NHS Rightcare Progressive Neurological Toolkit

The day began with an insightful talk from Shane Hayward Giles from NHS Rightcare, who presented the NHS Rightcare Progressive Neurological Toolkit, and explained that trusts can use the toolkit to benchmark themselves against similar sized trusts, as well as access a wide range of resources available to them. These resources can be invaluable to reference if you are building a business case for additional staff in your MDT team.

Delivering a Parkinson’s integrated care service in Hull

Next, Dr Tom Mace gave delegates an insight into the Parkinson’s integrated care service he delivers at the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre in East Hull, which is part of a new service commissioned by NHS Hull CCG. Launched in November 2019, the new service is run by City Health Care Partnership CIC and was built specially to care for older people in the community, including patients with Parkinson’s and frailty. Patients are invited to attend the centre for a full assessment and are supported by a MDT, including a Parkinson’s nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech and language therapist and has good links with the voluntary sector. 

We then heard from Pat Salter who introduced Fighting Fit, a weekend residential programme for active and working-age people living with Parkinson’s. Delivered in a variety of locations across England, the programme provides information and sign-posting, and enables attendees to meet other people living with Parkinson’s and share their experiences of living and working with Parkinson’s.

Presenting the 'UP Study'

Continuing the excitement into the afternoon, Dr Tom Payne, neurology registrar and clinical research fellow at Sheffield University presented the ‘UP Study’, which is  investigating the safety and tolerability of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in Parkinson’s. Led by Oliver Bandmann, Professor of movement disorders, this study is a flagship example of pulling through the preclinical work carried out at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) into clinical trials through the Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre.

Rounding off the day and getting all the attendees on their feet running on the spot, Fiona Lindop,  Excellence Network Clinical Lead: Therapies and specialised physiotherapist, put them through their paces and highlighted the importance of physical activity in Parkison’s. Attendees also got to see the benefit of exercise for themselves as Fiona showed a video of Jane Rideout, Excellence Network lead for the South West and Peninsula Local Excellence Network, who in her own words, explained how a positive mindset and dedication to physical activity has had a remarkable improvement on her Parkinson’s.

Continuing discussions and learning

If you'd like to see slides from the March meeting, keep in touch, and hear about future events, join the Yorkshire and Humber Local Excellence Network online collaboration space (Basecamp) by email request to [email protected].