大象传媒

Lisa Brown has been in the nursing profession for nearly 25 years.

Having started her training in Burton Hospital, Lisa moved to the Derby City Hospital in 1990 to work in Intensive Care.

Now, she is the Parkinson's Disease Nurse Specialist - and is loving it!

She told 大象传媒 Derby's Sally Swinfen: "I'm the main point of contact for people with Parkinson's Disease. I see lots of patients who come in for routine clinic appointments.

"The sorts of problems that people with Parkinson's can have are very, very wide and eveybody experiences the disease differently."

Parkinson's Disease is a neuro-degenerative condition which starts off in the brain due to the lack of a certain neuro-transmitter chemical, dopramine. But it then goes on to affect other systems of the body - including speech, movement, blood pressure and digestion.

"We see cases of Parkinson's Disease diagnosed in patients from their late twenties and thirties and forties - but it is much more common the more elderly population.

The Parkinson's unit will have a base at the Royal

"A lot of what we do is around education and teaching people the skills and giving them the knowledge to look after themselves and keep themselves as well as possible for as long as possible. Medication plays a big part - but also exercise and a healthy diet are really important."

Lisa describes her role as "really, really rewarding" and attributes that to both patients and the team she works with. Her unit is now a Centre of Excellence in Parkinson's Disease - one of only two in the country.

Lisa says that moving to the Royal Derby is welcome - not least because of a more pleasant working environment... more spacious and, as Lisa says gleefully "... it actually has a window!"

But Lisa will also maintain a presence at the DRI which she says is really important as they try to maintain the best possible care for all patients with Parkinson's Disease when they are admitted to hospital.