Pandemic Covid-19 and Parkinson’s – mortality, hospital admissions and change to services

Aim

This project aimed to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on patients with Parkinson’s in terms of morbidity, hospital admissions, and changes to clinics.

Headlines

• There were more deaths among Parkinson’s clinic patients between March and December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, despite there being fewer hospital admissions
• There was a similar total number of appointments in both years though most consultations were conducted by phone in 2020.
• Doctors may be less likely to make a medication change over the phone than they are face-to-face

Key findings

Data collected from the electronic health records of 100 people with PD found that:

• There were double the number of deaths between March and December 2020, compared to the same period in 2019
• There were 50 hospital admissions between March and December 2020, compared to 83 in the same period in 2019
• The proportion of doctor phone clinics went from less than five in 2019 to more than 60 in 2020
• The proportion of specialist nurse phone clinical went from around 20 to more than 100
• Doctors made a medication change at 77.6% of face-to-face appointments, compared to 57.7% of phone appointments

Recommendations

As we move out of the pandemic, phone clinics could continue to address a need for prudent healthcare where clinicians feel it is appropriate. Video calls may have a role to play in aiding assessment and decision making.