Steve Ford, Chief Executive at Parkinson’s UK
A worldwide appeal to call for one million people to sign up to the global Parkinson’s pledge was launched today and will be the lasting legacy of the second World Parkinson Congress (WPC) being held in Glasgow this week (28 September - 1 October).
There are around 7.4 million people in the world with Parkinson's, a degenerative condition for which there is no cure.
People signing up to the pledge will be joining a global Parkinson’s movement to help make Parkinson’s a health, social and economic priority around the world and to work together to find a cure for Parkinson’s.
The picture of Parkinson’s services across the world shows serious inconsistencies in access to treatments and services for those living with Parkinson’s. In the UK, 1 in 4 people with Parkinson’s has never seen a specialist nurse, and in Australia, there is one Parkinson’s nurse per 10 patients.
People living with Parkinson’s depend on a wide range of health care professionals, which extends beyond nurses, yet in Canada, there is a desperate shortage of neurologists.
In the UK, 1 in 3 people living with Parkinson’s have not been referred for mental health support, despite about 30% having dementia and around 40% experiencing depression. In Australia, nearly all patients have access to a mental health support.
In Australia, 50,000 speech and language specialists manage 80,000 patients, yet in the UK, 80,000 out of 120,000 patients have never been assessed by a language specialist.
The issues behind these statistics will be one of the topics discussed at the World Parkinson Congress, a four day event which sees thousands of researchers, scientists, carers and people living with Parkinson’s come together to learn about the latest developments in Parkinson’s and the work towards finding a cure.
Jane Asher, President of Parkinson’s UK, whose brother-in-law has Parkinson’s, is championing the global pledge.
She said: "We are calling on people from all walks of life, all over the world to sign up to this pledge and look towards a future without Parkinson’s.
"I first learnt about Parkinson’s as a child, from my doctor father, who was clearly distressed by the effects it had on his patients.
"But it wasn’t until someone close to me was diagnosed that I saw for myself the irrevocable and cruel physical and mental symptoms that Parkinson’s involves.
Elizabeth Pollard, Congress Manager at the World Parkinson Congress, said: "We are delighted that so many well-known people are supporting the pledge. The target is to gather one million people to join the global Parkinson’s movement by the next WPC in three years’ time in October 2013 in Montreal, Canada.
"We will present them to the World Health Organisation and other international bodies to help make Parkinson’s a priority health, social and economic issue around the world. Your signature will help us to drive our mission forwards."
Steve Ford, Chief Executive at Parkinson’s UK, said: "It’s easy to get involved and make a real difference to the lives of people with Parkinson’s. You can sign the global Parkinson’s pledge and join the Parkinson’s movement.
"You can find out more about the condition via your local Parkinson’s charity, like Parkinson’s UK. Or you can make a donation to help us find a cure for Parkinson’s."
To learn more about the pledge visit www.parkinsonspledge.org
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