Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made on access to Parkinson’s Specialist Nurse services in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.

The Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences, part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, has five specialist nurses, four full time, one part time, based at the Salford Royal Hospital providing support for the Salford borough and the wider Greater Manchester area.

The Greater Manchester Neurorehabilitation and Integrated Stroke Delivery Network is a National Health Service service improvement organisation currently facilitating a Parkinson’s United Kingdom-funded project to improve care across Greater Manchester and East Cheshire. The project aims to reduce variation in access and provision of care and support, improve patient experience and outcomes, and support more joined-up, cost effective services. More information can be found at the following link:

https://gmnisdn.org.uk/

A key piece of work completed so far includes the development and delivery of a Greater Manchester-wide benchmarking survey, informed by national guidance and stakeholder feedback. The survey achieved near-complete geographical coverage and identified variation in areas, including access to specialist support, mental health services, escalation pathways, hospital care, and support following diagnosis.