I am a working nurse with Parkinson's disease. The ward I work on is very very busy, and our staff numbers are low. In fact for 50% of the time (night shift) the numbers are 2 trained nurses and 2 auxiliaries for 38 patients. This is standard for an elderley ward.
I understand parkinson's - I have it. My nursing colleagues, I feel are not fully aware of the consequences of miss timed medication. Our Trust has done a great deal to get medication on time, but still there are failures. Education needs to increase and I'm sorry to say but wards need to be better staffed, as with all the will in the world, correct timing of medication will never be achieved.
Alarms are carried to pre warn of a required dose - but it's practically getting to that patient, away from the other 12 (during the day) or 19 (at night) who also need the nurse.
As a nurse I care about my patients and strive to get their medication on time. As a patient with parkinson's I would dread going to hospital if I had to rely on staff to give me my medication. My advice - talk to the staff, can you have your own pills? (every trust has a policy for this), any failures talk to the sister, any further failures PALS, etc.
Complete the parkinson's uk template to ask your MP abut pd improvements, and ask your MP if they are happy to be elderly, with PD on a 2 hour medication regime in hospital, and have only 2 trained nurses looking after them and 37 other patients at night?