Although the National Clinical Programme (NCP) for Neurology’s Model of Care included a pathway for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), and the number of people with Parkinson’s (PwP’s) is increasing significantly annually (it will double globally from 2015 to 2040), services for PwP’s haven’t had any significant healthcare investment in recent years. Anecdotally, Irish PD services fall well below internationally recommended standards for staffing resources. This not only affects the quality of life of PwP’s, it also leads to avoidable hospital admissions, with high associated costs and morbidity. The Parkinson’s Association of Ireland has lobbied to improve PD services in Ireland. However, there is no reliable estimate of the current prevalence of PD in Ireland, and of either the services available to PwP’s or the quality/user-appraisal of these services.
This research project aims to support national and local PD service planning by three linked work packages. The first maps the prevalence of PD and service availability for PwP’s, across each of the nine Community Healthcare Organisation regions in Ireland, to highlight mismatches between population needs and service provision. The second develops quality indicators for Irish PD services and assesses existing services against these indicators, to demonstrate where extra resources (e.g. education/training, staff numbers or mix, etc.) are needed to provide a quality service. The final work package explores the experience of PwP’s with respect to services they receive, and their priorities for service provision. The applicant team involves key stakeholders in the Health Service Executive (HSE), advocacy/support groups, and service users and providers.
Together, this data will support the Department of Health/HSE to plan future PD services in Ireland, on a region-by-region basis. It will support local PD services to improve the quality of their service, and will support ongoing advocacy for health care that meets the needs of PwP’s in Ireland.