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Hello Everyone

My name is Annette and I am a new member to your list.  Firstly I would
like to say what a great list it is!  I have certainly had my eyes opened
in the last week and you have had me in fits of laughter, tears of sorrow
and all the emotions in between.
The reason for joining the list is really a professional one.  Firstly I am
a nurse in England with a special interest in caring for people with PD.
Secondly I am a research associate,  we would like to be looking for a
`cure` for PD but we do not have the money or the resources so we are
trying to improve the services to people with PD.
Our team consists of a consultant who specialises in PD, a PD specialist
nurse, a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech and language
therapist and social worker all with special interests in PD.  We have just
started our research project and it will mean that anyone referred to us
will have access to all these professionals to deal with any problems they
have.  If someone has problems with their meds they can contact our PD
nurse who can see them within 24 hours to review and prescribe meds if
necessary.  Our physio runs clinics twice weekly for patients with PD, our
social worker can arrange respite or extra help at home and the OT can
provide advice and equipment as required.  The project is bringing all
these professionals together so that people do not have to wait weeks to be
seen, all types of help is available at the end of the phone (instant
access) and we hope this will improve the quality of life for people with
PD and also as important, for their carers.  We are developing pathways of
care, providing people with a key worker who will coordinate their care,
setting up monthly reviews and educational support for all.  My role is to
coordinate everyone and to organise rating scales, interviews,
questionnaires etc.  It is a very exciting time.
I would love to hear from anyone to let me know of their experiences and if
anything like this is already out there.  What are your views?  What can we
do to improve your quality of life?  Do you think this kind of research is
useful?  There has been little research on a multidisciplinary approach to
caring for people with PD, but we hope this research will show the value of
this service and more professionals will follow.