Help us protect front-line Parkinson's nurses

This week the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) published a report to demonstrate how almost 100,000 nurses could be lost from the NHS in the next 10 years through changes in policy and local cuts.

The RCN has already identified almost 40,000 posts that are earmarked to be lost over the next 3 years across the NHS in the UK.

And we're deeply concerned that specialist Parkinson's nurses - who can save the NHS in England more than £42million a year - are at risk of being cut.

The RCN's report is part of their Frontline First campaign to highlight the importance of nurses as front-line staff. This coincided with the launch of our Protect Parkinson's Nurses campaign on Monday this week.

We've had a great response to our campaign action so far. 60% of chief executives of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England have been emailed by the public about the value of Parkinson's nurses. And 64 people affected by Parkinson's have added their comments about Parkinson's nurses to our UK map.

This includes Ken in Edinburgh, who says: "My Parkinson's nurse is great because she provides an invaluable source of support and information on medication and lifestyle issues. She is accessible in a way that my consultant is not."

Our campaign's got off to a great start, but there's still a long way to go. We want as many people as possible to join our campaign. If you're in England use our simple template to send a message to your local PCT to protect Parkinson's nurses in your area.

If you're in the rest of the UK, add your comments to our map or see how you can get involved at a local level.

Please take action now.

2011 Mervyn Peake Awards

The 10th annual Mervyn Peake Awards take place today in London.

The 4 category winners – in art, photography, digital art and poetry – along with 12 commended entrants and the winners of the People's Choice award are gathering together at the IET Savoy Place, London to celebrate their achievements.

The winners of the 4 main categories are:

Art: Marjorie Abbott, for her painting, Enchanted Forest (image right)
Poetry: Ali Finlayson, for his poem, The Unstrung Violin
Photography: John Horwood, for his photograph, Alley Palley
Digital art: Eric Popplewell, for his film, Be Loud

This year's commended entries are:

Art: Liesl Silverstone, Sylvia Hogg and Peter Bagley
Poetry: Terry Matthews, Michael Bernard and Mo Browne
Photography: Havovy Fernandes, Andrew Fraser and Pauline McNulty
Digital art: Kenneth Smith-Simmons, Julie Clark and Jon Stamford

View the Mervyn Peake Awards 2011 winners.

Presented by Chocolat author Joanne Harris, the awards are organised by Parkinson's UK and judged by the Peake family, in memory of the late illustrator, writer and poet Mervyn Peake (1911–1968), who had Parkinson's.

The awards celebrate the creativity of people with Parkinson's. 2011 is a special year as it's the 10th anniversary of the awards and centenary of Mervyn Peake's birth. The celebrated illustrator and author of Gormenghast would have celebrated his 100th birthday this week.

Many people with Parkinson's find that having a creative outlet, like painting or photography, helps them deal with their condition. How do you express yourself? What do you do to unwind?

Tell us your stories here or email pr@parkinsons.org.uk

Dementia and Parkinson's research

Up to 40% of people with Parkinson's have some form of dementia and we are currently funding a study to understand the best treatments for the condition.

Earlier this week, the Ministerial Advisory Group for Dementia Research (MAGDR) produced a report looking to identify ways in which we can improve dementia research in the UK. Our chief executive Steve Ford and our research director Kieran Breen were part of this group.

The group recognised that funders and researchers need to work more closely together to share experience.

Another recommendation was to get people with dementia and their carers involved in research, including setting up registers of people who want to take part in clinical trials, getting people's input on proposed studies, and also encouraging people to promote the research.

Our new Research Support Network is one way in which people affected by Parkinson's can do just that.

Also crucial is the development of the next generation of researchers. We already fund career development awards and postgraduate studentships to ensure that we provide every opportunity to nurture future talent. However, although the report identifies some really key areas for research development, there will be very little additional money available to fund these.

So it will be left to charities such as Parkinson's UK to continue to fund research into neurodegenerative conditions for the foreseeable future.

If you're interested in Parkinson's research, why not join our new Research Support Network? To find out more contact Emily Hughes, our Research Support Network Manager, on rsn@parkinsons.org.uk or 020 7963 9376.

Or take a look at other ways to get involved in our research.

More support for carers? Yes, Prime Minister

The theme of this year's Carers Week has been the 'true face of carers'. And we've have had an exciting week of campaigning to raise awareness of the often unrecognised challenges that carers face and the support they need.

Yesterday, carers of people with Parkinson's were among attendees at a Carers Week reception at Downing Street, where they had the opportunity to raise awareness of the issues that carers of people with the condition face - with the Prime Minister, no less.

They spoke directly with David Cameron about the value of Parkinson's nurses for carers as a point of contact, support and advice - and the fact that they can save the Government money.

It was a particularly topical discussion, with unequal access to Parkinson's nurses still a major issue throughout the UK and some nurse posts currently under threat.

And the message obviously hit home when Mr Cameron later addressed the Carers Week reception, specifically mentioning Parkinson's nurses and recognising the need for the Government to work in partnership with carers and charities to get the right support in place.

It was great to get this issue on his radar at the reception - and even better to hear it directly from the mouth of the Prime Minister!

A huge thank you to the carers that attended. Pictured above are (left to right), Valerie Rossiter, Frank Price, David Barnes, Nadra Ahmed (also a Parkinson's UK trustee) and Pauline Wharton.

And thank you too to carer Barbara Lee from Worthing, who did a sterling job speaking to 10 MPs on a one to one basis at a 'speed networking' event earlier in the week. See some photos of Barbara in action on Flickr.

Carers face many issues, and the cuts aren't helping matters. Take action by contacting your MP to help us build momentum in our campaign for better support for carers.

New report condemns state of neurology services

This week, the Royal College of Physicians and the Association of British Neurologists published a report saying that overall services for patients with neurological conditions such as Parkinson's are poorly organised and don't meet patients' needs.

People with a neurological condition need a range of neurology services at different stages of their illness - including acute admission, outpatient care and long-term care. However, the report finds that these services are badly integrated, leaving many patients unable to access the right specialist at the right time.

Key proposals put forward in the report include an expansion and improvement of local services, organised care for patients with long-term neurological conditions, managed by enhanced roles such as specialist nurses, and better local planning of services with increased clinical involvement.

With our chief executive, Steve Ford, this week announced as the chair of the Neurological Alliance, we're more committed than ever to trying to improve all services and treatments for people with Parkinson's.

Our ongoing Fair Care for Parkinson's campaign seeks to make sure that all people affected by Parkinson's are given the care they deserve - wherever they live in the UK. This includes consistent access to high-quality neurology services for people with the condition.

So we strongly welcome this latest report and hope that the Government listens and places neurology at the top of its agenda.

Does this report reflect your experiences of neurological services? Share your thoughts here.