Parkinson’s Disease Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Olly Glover
Main Page: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)Department Debates - View all Olly Glover's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 12 hours ago)
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Alison Bennett
My hon. Friend makes her point very well, and I agree with it.
Rather than repeat what other hon. Members have said, I will move to identifying the three or four main areas that the Liberal Democrats want to highlight, hopefully giving the Minister more time to address the many points that hon. Members have raised so far in the debate. Those issues are mental health, social care, work and medicines availability.
On mental health—and I think this is a critical point—nearly half of people with Parkinson’s experience anxiety or depression, and up to 60% will experience psychotic symptoms as the condition progresses. Yet mental health support remains inconsistent and inadequate generally, and specifically for people with Parkinson’s.
Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)
My hon. Friend is quite right to highlight the importance of mental health support for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Will she join me in paying tribute to my constituent Peter Cook, who is doing great work as a trustee of the Parkinsons.Me charity, and also to Paul Mayhew-Archer MBE, who, as well as having written “The Vicar of Dibley,” is now doing fantastic work campaigning for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease?
Alison Bennett
Of course I am happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to Peter Cook and to Paul Mayhew-Archer for their campaigning.
The Liberal Democrats believe that people deserve regular mental health check-ups, access to walk-in mental health hubs and timely specialist dementia care. No one should have to fight the system while they are already fighting their condition. Social care is a crisis that cannot be ignored any longer. Parkinson’s is a progressive and fluctuating condition that affects every aspect of daily life, yet people are too often left without the support that they need to live with dignity.