Government support for Clinicians

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It is great that the Australian Government are lending financial support for the ongoing training of Clinicians and Medical Support Workers.

Much,much more of this type of thing is needed! But who is informing our health providers?

Over the past 8 or so years I have had many experiences with health workers who although they are caring/treating a PD patient do not seem to have a deep understanding of the condition.

This, it seems varies from State to State. Whilst I live in NSW the care and treatment of Parkinsons Disease is a very different one to that of VIC. Why? Good question - that I have no answer for.

Needless to say I now prefer to travel to Melbourne for ongoing support and treatment. It is astonishing to find that treatments being "trialed" in NSW are considered "old hat" and "unsucessful" in Victoria!

I would suggest that as the Government can only afford $90,000 to train "specialists" in this field, Victoria's Monash University would be the best place for the "Pooling of Resources" in this area.

"Specialist" Parkinsons Nurses are badly needed, especially in rural areas - however, it is a concern that types of treatment vary so widely from patient to patient that the Nurse will need to be extremely aufait with all the associated issues and will need ongoing support and resources themselves.

These nurses need to be part of an entire team that include: dietician, occupational therapist, speech therapist etc. Without this whole-team approach not much can be achieved nor maintained.