Society wins its fight for specialist nurse

Apr 18 2008 by Richard Fletcher, Chester Chronicle

SUFFERERS of a debilitating illness have won a two-and-a-half year battle to get the specialist help they need.

Parkinson’s disease sufferers in Chester and the surrounding area were forced into a “ridiculous” wait while Western Cheshire Primary Care Trust held numerous meetings about reinstating a specialist nurse.

The service was withdrawn in November 2005. The Parkinson’s Disease Society had previously paid £70,000 to have the nurse for two years on the understanding the PCT would then take over the funding. But the PCT later withdrew the cash due to financial problems.

Now, the £70,000 will be returned to the society, which will again fund the post for two years before the PCT takes over.

Chester and District PDS secretary Colin Cheesman, from Westminster Park, said: “It will make a tremendous difference to people in Chester. The benefit of the nurse is regular medical advice. Most GPs aren’t that familiar with the disease or the drugs.

“I’ve had some distressing conversations with people who’ve rung up and needed urgent advice and didn’t know which way to turn – and I’ve had to say there is nothing much I can do.

“It was a disastrous loss.”

The parties have a meeting planned for April 25 and the nurse may be in place in two to three months following training with the society. The nurse will hold phone clinics and home visits to give people some independence.

Mr Cheesman, 61, formerly a chief executive of Cheshire County Council and who has suffered with the disease for six years, thanked the PCT for looking at it again but added: “It will be a much stronger contract and bind them into picking up the funding. In effect they will be bound legally.”

A PCT spokeswoman said the authority had a “commitment” to funding the nurse despite the failure last time, and added: “This particular post was identified as a priority.”