World Parkinson's Day 2023

Bluebird Care Chichester is supporting World Parkinson’s Day 2023.

Bluebird Care is supporting World Parkinson’s Day which takes place annually on 11^th April. The day which is recognised around the world aims to help raise awareness of the disease, promoting a greater understanding of the condition and how it affects each individual person differently.

Parkinsons.org estimate that there are 145,000 people in the UK who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. This means 50 people in the UK are diagnosed with the condition each day, due to our growing ageing population the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s will continue to increase.

Not only does this condition affect 145,000 people in the UK, but Parkinson’s is also the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. Everyone who is diagnosed has their own symptoms and different techniques in dealing with them. Many who have heard of Parkinson’s disease associate this condition with a physical symptom such as a tremor or rigidity, World Parkinson’s day aims to make more people aware of the non-motor symptoms.

Non-motor symptoms can include any of the following;

• Reduced sense of smell
• Automatic Dysfunction for example, heat rate, body temperate or breathing rate.
• Depression
• Impaired Vision
• Attention Deficit
• Difficulties in planning and carrying out everyday tasks.

The motor symptoms of Parkinson’s are based around involuntary movements or rigidity, in which parts of the muscles of the body ‘freeze up’ and do not work. For a person with Parkinson’s these symptoms can be immense and as part of the awareness week it aims to help people understand the severity of these symptoms.

Symptoms are unpredictable and can vary on a time scale, for example a person may not be able to chop fruit or vegetables in case they find their hand ‘freezes’ making them unable to release a knife. Anyone can get Parkinson’s young or old.

The diagnosis of Parkinson’s can be scary as there is currently no cure, however there are treatments available to help reduce some symptoms and maintain quality of life. Treatments such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, medication and in some cases brain surgery.

Here at Bluebird Care, we aim to support people living with Parkinson’s through all changes you may encounter with Parkinson’s. Our team listen to what is important to you and your goals that you’d like to achieve. Together we create a domiciliary care plan that sets out how we can provide care which helps you live as well as possible with Parkinson’s.

The support we offer, might include:

• Support to continue with the social activities you enjoy
• Cognitive stimulation such as reading or talking
• Help with everyday tasks from getting dressed in the morning and having breakfast to taking a shower and getting ready for bed at night
• Making sure you have the medicines you need
• Support to maintain a healthy diet and to keep hydrated
• Assistance with housework, shopping and laundry
• Help with exercises to strengthen muscles and increase mobility
• Or up to 24 hour domiciliary care to give families and carers the opportunity to take a break.

Living with Parkinson’s is tougher than people think. But it doesn’t define you. You are still you. You can still do amazing things in spite of Parkinson’s and we are here to help support you in doing so.