PARKINSON'S Awareness Week 2006, which will take place between April 24 and April 30, is being used to launch a national campaign called Get it on Time, which stresses the need for patients with Parkinson's to get their medication on time when in hospital or a care home.

Bexley PCT's Parkinson's disease nurse Sue Phillips has plans to develop the Get it on Time idea throughout the borough's hospitals and care homes.

She said: "The idea is in its infancy but I want to teach health professionals, patients and their families to appreciate the importance of timing when it comes to medication.

"Even if something is taken just half and hour late it can have a huge impact on a sufferer's mobility."

Sue says the PCT will be working alongside physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers to spread the scheme as widely as possible because improving the quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease is hugely important.

In Bexley, Sue works to identify and link individuals to appropriate care services and therapies, liaises with doctors and other health professionals and tries to increase awareness of Parkinson's through the education and training of fellow professionals.

For more information, call 020 8298 6000.