Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this very important issue of support for sufferers of Parkinson's disease. It is estimated that 700,000 persons in Ireland are affected by neurological disease, 6,000 of whom have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Working in collaboration with consultants, nurses, health and social care professionals, patient support groups, patients and carers, the national clinical programme for neurology has developed a model of care to address the need for the strategic development of neurology services. The model of care, which was published in 2016, details a number of care pathways, one of which is the pathway for patients with Parkinson's disease.

The patient pathway for Parkinson's outlines that the nature and severity of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and the rate at which it progresses will be individual. Symptoms may take years to progress to a point where they cause major problems. Drugs are the main treatment to help control the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. These treatments are most effective when supported by access to multidisciplinary input from health and social care professions.

With regard to nursing, the patient pathway also sets out the role of the clinical nurse specialist in the management of patients with Parkinson's disease. This includes assessing the person with Parkinson's disease and identifying their needs, developing care plans and monitoring symptoms as well as providing lifestyle support. As with all service developments, the implementation of the neurology model of care, including the Parkinson's patient pathway, will be addressed in the context of competing priorities for the limited service development funding.

The Health Service Executive funds a range of community services and supports to enable each individual with a disability, including persons with Parkinson's disease, to achieve their full potential and maximise independence, including living as independently as possible. Services are provided in a variety of community and residential settings in partnership with service users, their families and carers and a range of statutory, non-statutory, voluntary and community groups. Services are provided either directly by the HSE or through a range of voluntary service providers. The range of services provided includes assisted living services such as personal assistant and home support services.

The Government is committed to protecting the level of personal assistant and home support services available to people with disabilities. In 2017, the HSE's priority is to provide 1.4 million hours of personal assistance to more than 2,000 people with disabilities, which is an increase of 100,000 hours over the 2016 target. In 2017, the HSE will also provide 2.75 million hours of home support to adults and children with disabilities, an increase of 150,000 hours over the 2016 target.

Therapy services for adults and children are generally delivered through primary care teams or community therapy services through specialist disability providers. People with disabilities may also be eligible for medical or surgical aids and assistive devices that facilitate and maintain mobility and functional independence. People with Parkinson's disease can benefit from therapeutic assistance, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy as well as a range of medical interventions.

I assure the Deputy that we are aware of the challenges facing people with Parkinson's disease and the Department of Health continues to work with the HSE to ensure the delivery of services to meet the needs of these patients. I will come back to the Deputy on some of the questions he has raised.

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