Patients with possible Parkinson’s disease are seen at a Movement Disorder Clinics. These are held in Edinburgh, Livingston and Haddington and people are usually referred to a centre near where they live.
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Leith Community Treatment Centre
Liberton Hospital
East Lothian Community Hospital
St John’s Hospital, Livingston
Western General Hospital
Not everyone who is referred to the Movement Disorder Clinic has Parkinson’s disease. Some people have conditions that are not serious and mean they only need to be seen in clinic once. Others are seen again over many years.
Deciding whether a person has Parkinson’s disease can take some time, and often people attend the clinic two or three times before their doctor can say for sure.
There is no simple test to diagnose Parkinson’s disease, but if necessary some people are sent to have a scan of their brain.
Your first appointment
Once your GP has referred you to one of our clinics you will receive an appointment letter in the post.
You may find it useful to write down some questions that you want to ask your doctor or nurse and take these with you.
We encourage you to bring your partner or a family member along with you to your appointment.
Please bring an up to date list of all of your current medications to the clinic appointment.
Your appointment time
To change your appointment please call the telephone number provided on your appointment letter.
As well as our medical and nursing clinics, some patients are referred at diagnosis to the Edinburgh Parkinson’s Assessment Clinic – a once off clinic where you will see a physiotherpist, occupational therapist, and a speech and language therapist.
Making the most of your future appointments
Because Parkinson’s disease can affect people’s lives very widely, beyond their tremor or movements, we sometimes use scoring systems to help identify other problems. If you already have Parkinson’s disease and are concerned about this, then completing the Parkinson’s Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire from Parkinson’s UK can help you doctor or nurse focus on what is wrong.
Ask me 3
Parkinson’s disease can be very complicated and a lot to suddenly try and understand. One approach is to Ask 3 Questions with your doctor or nurse. They can then tell you or write down the answers.
Questions you can ask about your illness could be:
- What is my main problem?
- What do I need to do?
- Why is it important for me to do this?
Questions you could ask about your treatments could be:
- What are my options?
- What are the pros and cons of each option for me?
- How do I get support to help me make a decision that is right for me?
