The FDC Charity Fund and the HQ Department are proud to support Parkinson’s Ireland. The FDC Charity Fund works on an elective basis. All FDC employees can elect to have a portion of their wages deducted each week and deposited into the FDC Charity Fund. For every €1 donated by staff, the Region/Department within FDC contributes €1 in support of the initiative.

“The generous donation from FDC, along with all other fundraising received, is greatly appreciated by the Parkinson’s Ireland Cork Branch. In practical terms, the €2,000 received subsidizes one of our Parkinson’s-focused weekly activity classes, benefiting up to 15 people with Parkinson’s for an entire year! Alternatively, it pays the balance we needed to subsidise our much-enjoyed annual lunch and social gathering for 80 people with Parkinson’s and carers. This is for some their main annual outing. This donation could fund important research projects with PDRC or help re-establish our local Parkinsons Specialist Nurse Service.”

• Jerome Maume, Chairperson, Parkinsons Ireland Cork Branch

The charity does not receive state funding. Funds received helped the unpaid voluntary local community in providing the following:

• Peer support and information services.
• A range of subsidized weekly Parkinson’s-focused activity classes for people with Parkinsons.
• Monthly local support group gatherings throughout Cork.
• Branch events such as an annual lunch, summer outing, walks, bi-monthly information meetings with key speakers, mass and reconciliation service.
• Outreach and awareness events in UCC, HSE and CORU.
• Research projects with Parkinsons Disease Research Cluster.
• The Carrigaline-based Parkinsons Specialist Nurse appointment and call back service, which the charity is attempting to establish with proper funding.

The Cork branch is one of around 20 local branches of Parkinson’s Ireland, a registered charity that supports and advocates for better services for people with Parkinson’s in Ireland. It is important for the branch to raise awareness of the voluntary, unpaid work it is doing. The organisation works tirelessly to highlight the challenges that those living with Parkinson’s disease face daily because of this complex, currently incurable, progressive neurological degenerative condition with its many variations, diverse symptoms and side effects.

The organisation has been campaigning for more than 10 years for a properly funded and resourced Parkinson’s specialist nurse service. Last December, in the absence of any active Parkinson’s specialist nurse in Cork, Parkinson’s Ireland took the initiative to set up and co-fund, with the Cork branch, a Parkinson’s specialist nurse appointment service at Carrigaline Primary Care Centre. Following this initiative, the charity was approached by a Parkinson’s specialist nurse relocating to West Cork from the UK. In the past month, she has now been retained directly by the HSE under the ICPOP service in Ballincollig as an “Advanced Parkinsons Nurse Specialist”.

The specialist nurse based at CUH recently returned from maternity leave. Another specialist nurse has also been retained for CUH, bringing the total to 3 active specialist nurses in just over 12 months. Given the estimated number of people with Parkinson’s in Cork and the geographic spread, at least 3 to 4 additional nurses are required to ensure adequate coverage. Parkinson’s Ireland is recruiting a replacement specialist nurse who will remain available to all. However, this is impossible without funding. The HSE actively recognises a shortage of specialist nurses as part of a greater problem of care delivery.

To learn more about the FDC Charity Fund, please visit https://www.fdc.ie/fdc-charity-fund/.  

To learn more or to support the organisation, please visit www.parkinsons.ie.