MOVE HIT looks back on 2020-21

Directors Dr Alan Whone and Lucy Mooney of the Parkinson’s and Other Movement Disorders Health Integration Team (MOVE HIT) look back at the team’s achievements in 2020-21.

The MOVE HIT works to improve quality of life for people with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders in the Bristol area and beyond.

Our year started with the HIT working together rapidly to develop and share communications about COVID-19 with our patients.

While our focus has been on the response to the pandemic, we’ve been pleased to also make progress on growing and improving our core services. We’ve brought more multi-disciplinary input into the service, including a neuro-physiotherapist joining the team and Parkinson’s Nurses conducting inpatient reviews and outpatient clinics at Southmead Hospital. We’ve also developed dedicated Dystonia, Atypical Parkinsonism and Ataxia clinics. We’re currently reviewing our inpatient and outpatient data to help improve inpatient care and appropriate discharge. We’ve shared learning from our Complex Therapies Service through speaking at meetings, including the Deep Brain Stimulation Nurse Association 2020 annual conference, which was well received.

Our research collaborations have included four studies where we’ve been working with the Engineering Faculty, Visual Information Laboratory and School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience at University of Bristol. This type of cross-discipline work is exactly what the HIT was set-up to foster. It was heartening to have three studies linked to the HIT recognised as Research Excellence Framework 2021 impact case studies. Importantly, our patient and public involvement group have continued to shape local research and it was good to see their role in a study on improved monitoring of Parkinson’s symptoms being recognised in this news article. We’ve also supported a new group that is emerging for patients with REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder. Over 20 patients have expressed an interest in joining this group, which will give opportunities to shape relevant research and give and receive peer support.

We look forward to continuing to make progress through the HIT in the year to come.