In 2024 and after 26 years of service to Parkinson’s WA we will be farewelling our much-loved Clinical Nurse Manager, Janet McLeod
Whilst we recognise Janet’s 26 years of service to Parkinson’s WA, her commitment to Parkinson’s care actually commenced an incredible 57 years ago!
In October in 1967, Janet was a student nurse who left her home to work and study at the Belfast City Hospital, Northern Ireland, now the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. On her first medical ward the young naive impressionable Janet was given responsibility for looking after a patient with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, who was a mother in her late 30s with several children. The mother was considered very young for a medical ward and also very young for someone with severe Parkinson’s. Janet remembers her name to this day. As a young nurse, Janet had to assist with her with meals, provide hygiene care and transfer this young mother out of bed onto a trolley to take her to the bathroom for her weekly bath. The young mother didn’t have advanced Parkinson’s – she had untreated Parkinson’s. This is when Janet’s passion for understanding and caring for patients with Parkinson’s began.
In 1998 it was announced that this passionate nurse from Belfast (Janet) had been appointed as the inaugural Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist to be based at Parkinson’s WA. This was when Janet said “I will dedicate the rest of my professional life to the Parkinson’s Community” and the West Australian community has significantly benefitted from this dedication for the last 26 years.
During the years of service at Parkinson’s WA, Janet has been instrumental in establishing and growing the Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist service which today supports the 15,000 individuals living with Parkinson’s. Although Janet is now in a management role, she was actually the first of 2 nurses covering the entire metropolitan, and some regional areas of WA, offering support, education and hope for those who find themselves with a diagnosis. In more recent times, she has worked tirelessly to improve and expand the service as the demand grows.
Janet’s qualities as a nurse professional can be described as having an amazing ability to effectively communicate with patients, often needing to explain complex information, as patients are often seeking clarity on Parkinson’s progression, medications, and plan of care. In 2012 Janet was awarded the Dr Rana International Award for education in the field of Parkinson’s (Canada) and the Order of Australia Medal for services to the community.
She is also an absolute delight to work with, has a high level of integrity and professionalism and we will all miss her terribly! Our heartfelt wishes go to Janet as she moves into retirement and embraces a new chapter in her life.