Parkinson’s patients at risk in NHS hospitals because of routine delays in giving medication

She said people are usually admitted with an unrelated condition, “which means they are seen by health professionals who are not Parkinson’s specialists”.

Samuel Uregbula, 67, became a “totally different person” due to missed and delayed doses of his medication, his wife Anna, 57, said, which included hallucinations and confusion, such as telling her that he “doesn’t like this hotel” and they need “to pay up and go”.

She said: “I live in constant fear that Samuel is going to have to go back to hospital. My main concern is if he went into hospital, the administering of medication is more complex than it is at home. In hospitals they give medication to all the patients at the same time because they are so busy, but that doesn’t work for someone with Parkinson’s. If you have medication other than the norm, then you are forgotten. And that’s exactly what happened to Samuel.”

More training needed

Julie lost her father, Brian, in 2022 at the age of 86, when he was left immobile and incontinent after missing doses.

She said: “I don’t blame the doctors and nurses for not giving Dad his Parkinson’s medication on time, but I do think they need more training on the importance of time critical medication.”

Diabetes UK, Epilepsy Action, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, and the National Aids Trust are also backing the calls for improvements to time critical medication, self-administration and e-prescribing.

An NHS spokesperson said: “While local NHS trusts are each responsible for their own medicines policy, NHS England has commissioned a range of support, information and resources for organisations on this issue, which have been used by hundreds of health professionals – we will continue to encourage their use so patients in hospital can get their medication in a timely way.”

The Department of Health was approached for comment.