Parkinson’s Untangled: Advocating for a clearer care pathway

Jas Athwal MP | AbbVie

This article has been commissioned and funded by AbbVie.  This article is intended for UK parliamentarians, and policy makers, and members of the general public with an interest in health policy.

In London, where my constituency of Ilford South is located, almost 13,190 people live with Parkinson’s;³ across the UK, this figure is 166,000.⁴ Behind these statistics are real people, some of whom I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and who have been generous enough to share their stories with me. Their experiences have driven my commitment to advocate for better Parkinson’s care, and ultimately, better outcomes for all patients.

For many years, I’ve worked with a variety of organisations, from national charities to grassroots, patient-led groups in my own constituency, including a boxing club for individuals living with Parkinson’s, and I have seen first-hand the impact Parkinson’s has.

The impact of Parkinson’s on patients, their loved ones, and the NHS

People living with Parkinson’s may face physical, psychological, and social challenges, including tremors, speech changes, and non-motor symptoms, such as anxiety.^5,6 Families often take on caring responsibilities, and may be impacted by physical, emotional and financial pressures.⁷ While most patients develop symptoms after the age of 65, thousands of working-age people are also affected, and symptoms may prevent them from participating in the workforce.⁸

As a complex and progressive neurological disease, Parkinson’s also places a growing burden on the NHS. In 2024/25, there were 110,130 hospital admissions for people with Parkinson’s, an increase of 8.6 per cent from 2023/2024.⁹ In 2024/25, the total approximate cost of all hospital admissions for people was Parkinson’s was calculated to be £387 million.¹⁰

With the UK population of people with Parkinson’s growing, and projected to double by 2050,¹¹ we must act now to prevent more significant impacts in the future. 

Parkinson’s is an issue close to my heart; however, these facts speak for themselves in highlighting why improving Parkinson’s care must be a national priority.

At present, the Parkinson’s care pathway can be uncoordinated and difficult to navigate, with no clear defined pathway, for example, for General Practitioners (GPs) in referring Parkinson’s patients to the appropriate services.¹²

In order to highlight some of these issues, I am delighted to be hosting an event in Parliament on November 17^th to launch a new report, Parkinson’s Untangled, commissioned and funded by AbbVie.

The report outlines a series of challenges across the Parkinson’s care pathway, which, for many, may feel uncoordinated and difficult to navigate. Developed by AbbVie, it is informed by insights from a policy roundtable held in March 2025, bringing together clinical experts and patient group representatives who were contracted by AbbVie to share their perspectives. Their input, alongside publicly available evidence, has been used to identify opportunities to improve the Parkinson’s care pathway and to help ease pressures on the NHS.

The Parkinson’s care pathway: A tangled web from beginning to end

Looking at the start of the pathway, it’s clear that speed to diagnosis must be improved. Of the 23 care specialities in the UK, neurology is the third worst in terms of patient waiting times,¹³ with data from January 2025 showing that only around 50 per cent of patients were seen by a specialist within the 18-week target from referral.¹⁴

According to the Parkinson’s Excellence Network, multidisciplinary care is vital to provide holistic, person-centred support, and every person with Parkinson’s should have access to an integrated multidisciplinary team of professionals to support them throughout their condition.¹⁵ However, access may currently be unequal. For example, a 2022 audit of 9,760 patients, conducted by the Parkinson’s Excellent Network, found that 45 per cent of patients had access to an occupational therapist, and just 40 per cent had access to a speech and language therapist.¹⁶

Over time, patients may develop advanced/complex Parkinson’s, meaning that despite treatment, they may find their symptoms are less effectively controlled.¹⁷ NICE guidelines outline a range of treatment options that should be considered; however, the clinical reality is far from ideal, and there are known gaps in access to care.¹⁸ While further research is needed to fully understand inequalities in Parkinson’s care, recent studies suggest that people from minority ethnic backgrounds may have different experiences of care; Parkinson’s UK notes that systemic barriers and a lack of diversity in research participation may contribute to these differences.¹⁹

There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, which means providing meaningful end-of-life care and palliative support is an essential part of the care pathway,^20,21 however, palliative care for those living with Parkinson’s may be suboptimal at present.^22,23 Discussions about palliative care should occur early in an individual’s disease for people with Parkinson’s disease to assist with symptom management.²⁴

Working together to improve Parkinson’s care

Parkinson’s cannot be prevented, but the quality of life for those living with the disease may be improved with the right interventions at the right time.²⁵ We should understand and take action to address this now, so we can best support the rising number of people living with Parkinson’s.

This is a conversation that we will be continuing at the launch of AbbVie’s report Parkinson’s Untangled on Monday 17^th November, in Terrace Dining Room B, House of Commons. I invite my colleagues across Parliament to join me and learn more about this important issue so that together we can improve Parkinson’s care for all.

UK-ABBV-250370 / October 2025

1. Parkinson’s UK (2024). Parkinson’s statistics. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/about-us/parkinsons-statistics (Accessed November 2025)
2. European Medical Journal (2025). Parkinson’s Disease Cases Predicted to Double by 2050: Global Study. Available at: https://www.emjreviews.com/general-healthcare/news/parkinsons-disease-cases-predictedto-double-by-2050-global-study/ (Accessed November 2025).
3. Parkinson’s UK (n.d.). Your local community in England. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/get-involved/your-local-community-england (Accessed November 2025)
4. Parkinson’s UK (2024). Parkinson’s statistics. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/about-us/parkinsons-statistics (Accessed November 2025)
5. Al-Khammash, N., et al. (2023). Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.
6. Mayo Clinic. (2024). Parkinson’s disease. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055#:~:text=Your%20posture%20may%20become%20stooped,your%20arms%20when%20you%20walk (Accessed November 2025).
7. World Health Organization (2023). “Parkinson’s Disease.” World Health Organization, Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/parkinson-disease (Accessed November 2025).
8. Parkinson’s UK. (2014). Thinking about Advanced Parkinsons. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-09/PKB003%20Advanced%20Parkinson%27s%20WEB.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
9. Parkinson’s UK (n.d.). Hospital admissions for people with Parkinson’s, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25. Available at: https://parkinsonsuk.hsj.co.uk/hospital-admissions-people-parkinsonss (Accessed November 2025)
10. Parkinson’s UK (n.d.). Cost. Available at: https://parkinsonsuk.hsj.co.uk/hospital-admissions-people-parkinsonss (Accessed November 2025)
11. European Medical Journal (2025). Parkinson’s Disease Cases Predicted to Double by 2050: Global Study. Available at: https://www.emjreviews.com/general-healthcare/news/parkinsons-disease-cases-predictedto-double-by-2050-global-study/ (Accessed November 2025).
12. Neurology Academy (n.d.). Parkinson’s Pathway Project. Available at: https://neurologyacademy.org/parkinsons-academy/projects/parkinsons-pathway (Accessed November 2025)
13. Parkinson’s UK. (2024). Parkinson’s UK’s 10 Year Health Plan consultation response. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-12/Parkinson%27s%20UK%27s%2010%20Year%20Health%20Plan%20consultation%20response%20%28December%202024%29%20%281%29.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
14. Parkinson’s UK (2025). Government plans to cut waiting lists in England are a good start, but don’t go far enough. https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/news/government-plans-cut-waiting-lists-england-are-good-startdont-go-far-enough (Accessed November 2025).
15. Parkinson’s Excellence Network. Parkinson’s Excellence Network: Vision for integrated multidisciplinary care. https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/Copy%20of%20Vision%20for%20integrated%20multidisciplinary%20care%20%28new%20logo%29.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
16. Parkinson’s Excellence Network (2022). Overview and key findings from 2022 UK Parkinson’s Audit. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-05/Overview%20and%20key%20findings%20from%202022%20UK%20Parkinson%27s%20Audit%20%28%20for%20non-professional%20audience%29.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
17. Parkinson’s UK. (2014). Thinking about Advanced Parkinsons. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-09/PKB003%20Advanced%20Parkinson%27s%20WEB.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
18. Auffret (2023). Device-aided therapies (DAT) for Parkinson’s disease:PMC10645670. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Accessible at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10645670 (Accessed November 2025).
19. Parkinson’s UK (2025) More evidence of inequalities in Parkinson’s care. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/news/more-evidence-inequalities-parkinsons-care  (Accessed November 2025).
20. Parkinson’s Excellence Network. Parkinson’s Excellence Network: Vision for integrated multidisciplinary care. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/Copy%20of%20Vision%20for%20integrated%20multidisciplinary%20care%20%28new%20logo%29.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
21. Garon et al. (2023) A systematic practice review: Providing palliative care for people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10798024/ (Accessed November 2025).
22. Marie Curie. (2015) Triggers for Palliative Care; Improving access to care for people with diseases other than cancer. Available at: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/globalassets/media/documents/policy/policy-publications/june-2015/triggers-for-palliative-care-full-report.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
23. Wilson, E, et al. (2024). Place of death in Parkinson’s disease and related disorders in England and Wales: post-pandemic trends and implications for care planning. PubMed. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38497239/#:~:text=Hospital%20deaths%20were%20most%20common,%25%2C%20P%20%3D%200.035 (Accessed November 2025).
24. Marie Curie. (2015) Triggers for Palliative Care; Improving access to care for people with diseases other than cancer. Available at: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/globalassets/media/documents/policy/policy-publications/june-2015/triggers-for-palliative-care-full-report.pdf (Accessed November 2025).
25. Parkinson’s UK. (2024). Parkinson’s UK’s 10 Year Health Plan consultation response. Available at: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-12/Parkinson%27s%20UK%27s%2010%20Year%20Health%20Plan%20consultation%20response%20%28December%202024%29%20%281%29.pdf (Accessed November 2025).

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