Hospital Admitted Parkinson’s Patients at a Disadvantage

According to a new study, patients with Parkinson's show a decline in their condition after being admitted to a hospital. A survey conducted amongst 210 nurse specialists by the Parkinson's Disease Society has revealed that such problems arise due to delays in medication or even lapses in administering the medication to the patients after they are admitted.

Parkinson's disease patients experience tremors due to the decline in the dopamine levels in the brain, which actually holds the control of links between the nerve cells. They are entirely dependant on medicines that are prescribed according to each patient's condition and administered according to the need of the patient.

When the medication pattern or schedule is disturbed, the patient can get very ill and may even be crippled enough not to able to even walk out of bed. Added to this, even the digestion and bowel functions can get disturbed, some patients show severe mood and sleep disorders. In severe cases, even hallucinations grip the patients. Even after the medicines are resumed, it might take several for the condition to stabilize.

The society's chief executive Steve Ford said: It's completely unacceptable that people with Parkinson's are currently anxious about being admitted into hospitals and care homes across the UK because of a real risk that their Parkinson's will get a lot worse. We want all hospitals to immediately implement the standards laid down by the Department of Health for medicines, management and have written to every chief executive within the NHS to ask them if they are aware of what is happening for patients with Parkinson's in their hospital.