Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital Neurological Parkinson’s Clinic has just marked its first year of service to the Parkinson’s community of northern Sydney.

The clinic is located in the Outpatients Department of the hospital and staffed by Parkinson’s Specialist Nurse Suliana Manuofetoa and a rota of four neurologists led by Dr Omar Ahmad, Head of Neurology.

A second Parkinson’s clinic also operates at the hospital, staffed by a multidisciplinary Allied Health team with a focus on rehabilitation.

“The benefits of the Neurological Parkinson’s Clinic are that there is no waiting list, we operate under the public health system so it is free, we are able to refer directly to Allied Health, provide access to community services, and we can start patients on advanced therapies immediately when they are required,” said Suliana.

Wait times for neurology appointments at some other northern Sydney hospitals are measured in years, so the Clinic also attracts some out-of-area patients who require more immediate treatment.

Patients attending for an initial consultation have 40 minutes with a neurologist, followed by a 20-minute appointment with Suliana. Follow-up patients have a 20- minute appointment with the neurologist and a 20-minute appointment with the nurse.

In its first year of operation, the once-a-fortnight Clinic saw 50 new patients, and performed 68 neurologist follow ups, 89 nurse follow ups, and three patients commenced on advanced therapies. In addition, Nurse Suliana has undertaken 92 nurse in-patient consultations during the past year.

“Feedback from patients has been very gratifying,” said Suliana. “We have received many positive comments on the quality of service and our focus on patient-centred care.”