People with Parkinson's wait years to be seen by medical experts

NHS staffing levels have been so low that people with Parkinson’s are often waiting years to be seen by health specialists, which is causing their symptoms to deteriorate rapidly.

The shock findings based on analysis by the charity Parkinson’s UK reveals how NHS workforce shortages are severely affecting care in England, prompting it to launch its Can’t Wait campaign.

The campaign calls for Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to produce ‘a fully-funded workforce strategy’ because ‘an increase in numbers is desperately needed to improve clinical care’.

'Families struggled to get support'

A spokesman for Parkinson’s UK said the charity has “heard horrifying stories from families who have struggled to get support from health services for loved ones. One person with Parkinson’s had only seen a consultant once in three years for an online appointment, leading to crippling anxiety and poor health.”

Sam Freeman Carney, health policy and improvement lead at Parkinson’s UK, said: “The Can’t Wait campaign highlights how essential it is that people with degenerative conditions get access to proper healthcare. Not being seen by healthcare specialists is not only hugely damaging to them but ultimately it puts more pressure on the health service.”

The Royal College of Physicians has found that around half (48 per cent) of consultant geriatricians in England are expected to retire in the next ten years.

Meanwhile, Parkinson’s UK has identified a ‘data black hole’ with the NHS’s monthly workforce statistics only giving an overview of the numbers of doctors and surgeons listed by speciality.

Nurses, mental health professionals and allied health professionals, such as speech therapists and occupational therapists - roles which are essential for Parkinson’s care - are not listed by speciality. Parkinson’s nurses, neuropsychologists and neuropsychiatrists numbers are not published at all.

Mr Freeman Carney added: “It’s appalling that there is so little publicly available official data on the NHS workforce in England. Without publishing this missing data, little progress will be made on improving access to care for people with Parkinson’s.”

There are just 64 consultant neuropsychiatrists in the UK, with up to two year waits for inpatient support. A European Academy of Neurology survey revealed the UK was ranked 44 out of 45 European countries for the number of neurologists per population.

Shortage of Parkinson's nurses

Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. There are over 40 symptoms associated with Parkinson’s (ranging from tremors to anxiety) and the charity says the complex condition requires ‘an integrated multidisciplinary approach to care, seeking expert input from a range of specialities’.

The charity says ‘this lack of transparency on NHS workforce numbers means the UK government is not being open with the public about the true scale of the workforce crisis’.

Across the UK, there is a shortfall of 100 full-time equivalent Parkinson’s nurses. Parkinson’s UK’s 2019 data revealed 66 per cent of people with Parkinson’s had access to a physiotherapist, only 53 per cent had access to an occupational therapist and only 47 per cent had access to a speech and language therapist in the UK.

A spokesperson for the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) has said “there is a very strong need for fully staffed teams to deal with those living with Parkinson’s.”

When it comes to the total number of vacancies in the NHS there were 132,139 staff vacancies in June 2022 – up from 88,347 vacancies at the start of the pandemic (March 2020).

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists are also backing the charity’s call for a fully-funded workforce plan.

Professor Richard Walker, consultant physician at North Tyneside General Hospital, said: “We really need trained, and fully staffed, multidisciplinary teams to provide timely, and appropriate, support and clinical services for people with Parkinson’s throughout the NHS.”

Sam Freeman Carney at Parkinson’s UK, added: “We are calling for the UK government to grow and upskill the Parkinson’s workforce to better support people with the condition.”