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The BGS Parkinson’s Disease (PD) Section have recently ratified a name change at the AGM at Harrogate, and will now be known as the BGS Movement Disorders Section. This has been an issue exercising the committee for some time because of the changing clinical and educational milieu in which we now practice and the need to change was driven by a number of factors.

Firstly, a reflection that ‘BGS PD section’ did not adequately describe the extent of multidisciplinary services that many geriatricians provide to patients with diverse conditions other than PD, such as essential tremor and vascular parkinsonism as well as neurodegenerations such as progressive supra nuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy. The close relationship of many neuropsychiatric conditions such as Dementia with Lewy bodies to the work of Movement Disorders clinics also highlights the need to keep developing our formal and informal networking with other clinical colleagues, and the Section has recently been delighted to welcome Dr Iracema Leroi, Consultant Psychiatrist in Old Age and Senior Research Fellow, onto our committee, to reflect the diversity that the ‘rubric’ of Movement Disorders implies.

Secondly, the section has always had strong if informal links with our colleagues in neurology with respect to service, education and research. It was felt that as closer links are being explored we should recognise the commonality, and also perhaps some areas of disparity in clinical practice in Movement Disorders. Many of our members regularly attend the scientific meetings of the world wide Movement Disorders Society where they engage with colleagues from all over the globe. We encourage section members to join the MDS and one pressing aspiration is to affiliate with the MDS to extend collaboration with neurology and share models of good practice with clinicians, allied health professionals and other scientists in the field throughout Europe and beyond.

Finally, and crucially underpinning the philosophy of change, is the realisation that our trainees need a ‘curriculum’ in Movement Disorders that reflects the breadth of knowledge and skills required to ‘credentialise’ in Movement Disorders as a subspeciality interest. Dr Peter Fletcher has recently contributed a proposed training grid and further information.

The Section will continue to take a keen interest in training and service delivery issues and the PD Academy which runs Masterclasses in PD under the auspices of the Section recently celebrated its fifth anniversary of activity. The founding trio of Peter Fletcher, Doug MacMahon and Sue Thomas originally anticipated a need for one year of Masterclasses! but Faculty are now conducting a fundamental review of the course and planning for the next five years. A David Bowie lyric comes to mind…………..

We’ve got five years, what a surprise
We’ve got five years, stuck on my eyes
We’ve got five years, my brain hurts a lot

Graeme Macphee
Chair
BGS Movement Disorders Section

BGS Newsletter, December 2007
Issue 14 ISSN 1748-6343 14