Specialist nursing

Role of the Parkinson's disease nurse specialist

Specialist Parkinson's nurses are registered general nurses with specialist experience, knowledge and skills in Parkinson’s. They play a vital role in the care of people with Parkinson's and can also offer information and advice to families of people with Parkinson's and other health and social care professionals involved in a person's care. They work closely with the clinical team and provide valuable help in supporting people coming to terms with their Parkinson’s diagnosis, offer guidance on managing medication and make appropriate referrals on to other professionals such as speech and language therapists and physiotherapists.

Rita Smith, our Parkinson's disease nurse specialist, can be contacted on 020 7317 7578 or ritasmith@nhs.net.

Helping people to manage their medication is a large part of Rita's role. Treatment is decided according to the individual’s presenting symptoms and medication is prescribed to personally suit each person’s particular symptoms. The Parkinson’s disease nurse works closely with the hospital pharmacist and can advise on medication management to help people get the best results from their medicines.