Parkinson's medication breakthrough as nurse develops new method to help patients control needs

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An Ayrshire nurse specialist who treats patients with Parkinson’s disease has won an award for coming up with a new way of keeping tabs on his patients’ medication needs.Nick Bryden, 50, who is specialist nurse at Biggart Hospital, in Prestwick, won an advanced project award from The Neurology Academy.Nick’s work is titled ‘improving timely medication access for people with Parkinson’s in hospital through combined use of electronic records and education.’And it wowed the judging panel at The Neurology Academy, who provide education opportunities for clinicians, specialist nurses and professions allied to medicine.The organisation awarded him their Parkinson’s Advanced ‘MasterClass 42’ project accolade.Essentially, Nick’s project resulted in a more ‘joined-up approach’ to Parkinson’s patients' medication needs.Thanks to Nick and his colleagues, Biggart Hospital employs a vastly improved up-to-the-minute record of patient medication, ultimately helping to reduce the time taken by staff to establish a patient's daily medication needs.It also helps to ensure patients get the best treatment tailored for them- at precisely the time they need it.A spokesperson for The Neurology Academy said: “We’re delighted to announce that this year’s winner is Nick Bryden.“Parkinson’s nurse specialist Nick wanted to improve the access to timely medication for people with Parkinson’s admitted to hospital and through research into the opportunities within electronic records, collaboration with senior pharmacists, and pilot education for non-specialist ward staff, has developed comprehensive reporting systems, more joined-up working between the Parkinson’s team and general wards, and improved understanding of Parkinson’s medication in his local