A team from NHS Ayrshire & Arran has successfully created a system to ensure that people with Parkinson’s get their medication on time while they are in hospital.
Parkinson’s nurse specialist Nick Bryden, who led the team, explains: “The timely administration of medication is hugely important in helping to control symptoms in people with Parkinson’s.
"Guidance states that Parkinson’s medication should be administered within 30 minutes, either side, of the prescribed time which can be challenging within a busy hospital ward environment."
Nick, who works out of Biggart Hospital in Prestwick, added: “When we initially worked with our digital pharmacist, Richard Cottrell, it was to develop a system that would alert us to when a Parkinson’s patient was admitted to hospital.
"It then became clear that we could take the system a step further and use it to monitor if people are on the right medication and whether or not it is being administered at the right time.”
The team worked to develop a further system of clear visual prompts with NHS Digital services, which appear alongside relevant patient details on wards’ electronic whiteboards.
Every patient prescribed Parkinson’s medication has a tulip symbol beside their name which changes colour and flashes when it’s close to the time to administer the medication. The system was initially piloted in a couple of wards and, due to its success, has now been rolled out to almost every ward in Ayrshire and Arran.
Source: The Herald, 19 April 2023
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