Resources

available to people with Parkinson’s disease and their families in Southampton.

People who are registered with a Southampton City GP have access to Vicky Queen, the Primary care trust’s Parkinson’s Disease Nurse Specialist. She is able to see people at clinic or at home to assess and manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. She also works closely with all the Consultants working in Parkinson’s disease and often runs joint visits with these. Vicky also has an educational remit I provides a 7 week course of education to relatively newly diagnosed people. This is called the Parkinson’s Disease Self Management Education Programme and it aims to help people understand more about the condition and how to manage it. The topics covered include medication management by a community pharmacists, physiotherapy, Equipment that may help and Financial and benefits advice. Contact Vicky Queen whose details can be found in the Contact Us section, if you would like to book a place on this programme.

Exercise programme.

The Southampton Branch or the Parkinson’s Disease Society and Vicky Queen Parkinson’s Disease Nurse Specialist set up the Parkinson’s Disease Exercise group in 2006, following a grant obtained by Vicky from the Southampton city primary care trust. Now in its second year of running this group has had a lot of success in improving the ability and providing socialising opportunities for people with Parkinson’s Disease in Southampton.

The group is run by a specialised physiotherapist, using specific exercises that have been shown to help. The group runs a six week programme with an individual assessment at the beginning. It is run from two sites in Southampton to enable maximum access for all. The two sites are in StDenys and Highfield. If you are interested in this group please contact Vicky Queen, whose details can be found in the Contact Us section.

Rehabilitation teams

In Southampton there are five Community rehabilitation teams and one community neurological rehabilitation team. The five community rehab teams cover different areas of Southampton, e.g. central, north, east, south and west. These teams include physiotherapist, occupational therapists, rehab nurses, and care managers. You may need to be referred to one of these teams if you are having problems with your mobility and need to be seen by a physiotherapist at home. These teams also have a large roll in falls prevention work and are involved in providing a falls prevention group in the City.

Support groups

The Southampton Branch of the Parkinson’s Disease Society meets the first Tuesday afternoon each month in StMarks Hall, Archers Road, Southampton. The group provides support and education to its attendees, to find out more you can contact Penny Bonner-Morris, Chair of the group, whose details can be found in the Contact Us section.

Young support group

The Solent Early Onset Support group, is a Parkinson’s Disease support group for people who where diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease under the age of 60yrs of age. The group meets monthly on a Saturday and provides social support and also organises many trips and educational talks about recent advances in Parkinson’s Disease including Nutrition workshops. If you want to find out more you can contact the chair of this group Mary Shorter, whose details can be found in the Contact Us section.

Community Clinics

As part of Vicky Queen’s role as Parkinson’s Disease Nurse Specialist Parkinson’s Disease Nurse Specialist in Southampton she has worked with Consultants working in Parkinson’s disease to bring there clinics out of the hospital and closer to home at settings such as GP surgeries or day care centres. The idea of this is to create services closer to home for you and to enable more frequent reviews by Consultants. Vicky is also working on a project to create a multidisciplinary clinic, this means when you come to see the Consultant you are also assessed by the physiotherapist, occupational therapist and Parkinson’s Disease Nurse Specialist. The aim of this is to give you greater access to services that can help.