Ms Louise Poole1,2, Ms Jessica Lamond1,3
1Movement Disorders and Parkinson's Disease Service, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia, 2Physiotherapy Department, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia, 3Speech Pathology Department, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Jessica Lamond is a Senior Speech Pathologist and Louise Poole is a Senior Physiotherapist in the Movement Disorders and Parkinson's Service at Concord Hospital. Jessica recently completed research examining the outcomes for people with Parkinson’s participating in a telehealth Speech Pathology and Music Therapy led singing group; and Louise is completing a post graduate diploma of advanced clinical practice, specializing in governance. They are both passionate about driving new and innovative methods to engage with and improve outcomes for people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Abstract:
Multidisciplinary management is known to enhance the care of people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), however many people living with PD in Australia to not have access to an integrated medical, nursing and allied health multidisciplinary team (MDT). We aim to improve the quality of life and build the self-management capacity for people living with PD and related movement disorders and their carers, by developing a model of care for a quality, holistic, multidisciplinary outpatient service for people living in the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) and beyond. Enhancement funding from the Ministry of Health expanded the staffing and resources of our existing multidisciplinary clinic service, and we established a consumer representative group and developed community partnerships. This allowed us to implement an innovative program of evidence-based group and individual interventions, including providing holistic assessment and management via an MDT assessment clinic, dance and singing group programs, an interdisciplinary physiotherapy and speech pathology exercise group, an early diagnosis education and therapy group, clinical psychology wellness groups, and AH/nursing drop-in clinics. We have successfully provided opportunities for continuous engagement with MDT services for people with PD and their families, resulting in improved access to evidence-based treatment approaches as early as possible and ongoing as needed.