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Parkinson’s advanced symptom unit (PASU)

The Parkinson's Advanced Symptoms Unit allows rapid access and assessments for patients at high risk of hospital admission or nursing care.

The Parkinson’s Advanced Symptom Unit (PASU) is a community-based outpatient service offering rapid access and multi-specialist assessments for patients at high risk of admission to hospital or nursing care.

The PASU runs in parallel to our standard clinic and is staffed by a team of Parkinson’s experts able to deal, in a timely manner, with both physical and mental health challenges.

We are based in Redcar Primary Care Hospital.

Patients are seen in clinic, or at home, and our team then develops a personalised action plan to improve symptoms and reduce carer strain. The PASU therapy team then delivers a package of interventions specific to individual need.

We target key issues that drive emergency admissions, such as declining mobility, falls, dementia and hallucinations. We assess patient and carer mental well-being and provide a comprehensive medication review at each visit. We use standardised assessment tools and an evidence-based approach to interventions.

We also collect data on complications such as hospital admissions, length of stay, hip fracture rates and nursing home admissions. We are constantly striving to improve our practice, and the service, with innovative staff, patient and carer education, and have set up a number of therapist-led initiatives aimed at improving physical and mental well-being, as well as social engagement.

Opened in 2015, with the help of a Health Foundation “Innovating for Improvement” grant, we are now supported by local and specialist commissioners. Service user feedback has been excellent and patients report feeling better able to manage their own condition. As a result, we have seen a reduction in emergency admissions to hospital and shortened lengths of stay.

It also has the support of Parkinson’s UK, South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. The clinic is open to referrals from patients and carers themselves, as well as primary care providers and community-based teams. It also functions as a centre of excellence, offering training to doctors, nurses and other health professionals who work in the region.

Contact details

Patients can contact the clinic on 01642 854319.

Patient feedback

Parkinson’s is an extremely distressing condition making it difficult for patients to remain positive but having the specialist clinic in our backyard makes things so much better.

“It allows staff to work as a team and if any member of the team needs anything they are all together in the same building!”

“This has given us hope that things can be better.”

“This has given me my granddad back!”