Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has in place to support (a) carers and (b) family members of people with Parkinson's experiencing distressing hallucinations during the covid-19 outbreak.

As set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Parkinson’s disease in adults’, published in July 2017, symptoms such as hallucinations are an increased risk for people taking some Parkinson’s disease medications. The guidance sets out that people with Parkinson’s disease should have a comprehensive care plan agreed between themselves, their family members and carers and specialist and secondary healthcare providers. Family members and carers (as appropriate) should be provided with information about the condition, their entitlement to a Carer’s Assessment and the support services available. Patients should be regularly reviewed and offered an accessible point of contact with specialist services. The guidance can be found at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71/resources/parkinsons-disease-in-adults-pdf-1837629189061

As a result of COVID-19, digital and remote general practitioner consultations and outpatient appointments as means to support patients, where clinically appropriate, have become the norm across England. Providers have been rolling out remote consultations using video, telephone, email and text message services as a priority, including for those with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

Where digital and remote consultations are not possible, clinicians should carry out face to face consultations where necessary.