Hospital Trust introduces innovative workshops to help patients newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.

Patients at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with a recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease are now benefiting from innovative workshops which help them to understand and manage their condition.

Dr Nishantha Silva, Consultant Physician and Geriatrician and Service Lead for Parkinson’s Disease at Sherwood Forest Hospitals introduced the Parkinson’s Journey Workshops for newly diagnosed patients in March this year. They aim to give patients an oversight on what the Parkinson’s service can provide for them, as well as offer support with managing their diagnosis. 

Dr Silva introduced the workshops after a patient told him ‘I am not my Parkinson’s’, and he sees it as a way for patients to navigate their diagnosis, meet the Parkinson’s team, and find out what the service can provide.

He commented, “With the right treatment and knowledge about the disease, many people with a Parkinson’s diagnosis can live a good quality of life for a long time."

“The workshops aim to give newly diagnosed patients support strategies and hope; to enable them to live their life and not be defined by their Parkinson’s diagnosis.”

The sessions run every two months and can accommodate up to eight patients and their families. Approximately 40 patients and their family members and carers have attended the sessions so far, and there are plans to expand the service to ensure that it meets the needs of the 1,900 patients currently under the care of the Parkinson’s Service at Sherwood Forest Hospitals.

Robert Jones, 73, from Huthwaite, was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and has found the sessions to be extremely beneficial. During the sessions, he has taken part in exercises to help him with his mobility and has found it useful to meet others with a recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, learning what methods they use to help manage their disease. 

Speaking about his diagnosis, Robert said, “Initially it was really upsetting to receive this diagnosis, but the workshops have really helped, particularly with keeping mobile which is extremely important to me."

“It’s an ongoing battle and is still early days, but I am hopeful that under Dr Silva’s care, I can be as happy as I was before my diagnosis."

“There are still places I want to visit, people I want to meet and things I want to do. I’m going to live my life to the fullest and make the most of every moment.”

The Parkinson’s service at Sherwood Forest Hospitals has evolved over the past ten years from offering a couple of clinics a week to the complex service it is today, offering cutting-edge, advanced treatment for Parkinson’s patients, including being the first hospital in the East Midlands to introduce the infusion therapy treatment Produodopa, which is administered via a portable pump under the skin of suitable patients with advanced-stage Parkinson’s disease.