Working Together: Giving our clinicians the skills to provide best evidence-based practice in Parkinson’s disease.
Kathryn Ramsay1 1Ramsay Health Care, Joondalup Health Campus, Western Australia, Australia
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. PD currently affects around 84,000 Australians, with prevalence predicted at 3 times the rate of population growth and an annual cost of $10 billion. Research shows that early intervention may slow disease progression; a multi-disciplinary approach to care leads to better patient outcomes; and health care professionals should have specialist training in working with people with PD.
A multi-disciplinary Ramsay Health Care (RHC) project team was formed to:
1. Gain qualitative and quantitative data from allied health and nursing staff at RHC sites on their level of specialist knowledge and skills with working with people with PD.
2. Gain an understanding of current PD-specific services and resources at RHC sites for gap analysis.
A survey was conducted for nursing and allied health clinicians across 26 RHC national sites in January 2021. Responses showed:
– 65% of respondents did not meet discipline specific criteria
– >80% had not completed PD education in the past 12 months
– 66.5% were unaware of site resources
– 40% felt they did not have sufficient clinical support.
National funding was allocated for additional education and a PD clinical network was established which provided free specialist education, resource sharing and mentoring. A repeat survey in November 2022 showed:
– 8% increase in meeting discipline specific criteria
– 97% increase in completing PD specific education
– 10% increase in clinicians’ awareness of and accessing resources.
Biography
Biography to come