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A celebration of over 3 decades of specialist Parkinson's nurses has taken place at St James's Palace.

The event was hosted by Duchess of Gloucester. She recognised 35 years of the role, which started in Cornwall with the country's very first Parkinson's nurse.

Lynne Osborne, Trust Parkinson's Consultant Nurse was among 20 specialists from across the UK to attend the event.

"People with Parkinson's were often overlooked in hospital. They were either there unnecessarily or not followed up.

"For example, some patients were having issues with constipation and not treated. Constipation stops Parkinson's medication from absorbing, meaning symptoms are not managed."

Rosemary McGuire from Cornwall became the first specialist Parkinson's nurse in the UK in 1989. She earned her role after consultants here identified a need. In 2000, Cornwall also became the first county in the UK to have a specialist Parkinson's consultant nurse.

There are now more than 500 Parkinson's nurse specialists in the UK. They all still follow the same framework developed in Cornwall.

Lynne adds: "The Duchess was keen to hear about how many people in the UK are living with Parkinson's. She asked questions about what the nurse specialist role involves. She also asked about new developments in medication. It was an exciting day."

Parkinson's is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. At the moment, there is no cure. Around 1,600 people in Cornwall and 153,000 in the country are living with the condition. Every hour, 2 more people in the UK will receive a diagnosis. That works out to 18,000 a year.

Lynne continued: "It was an honour to be at the event and to be part of the 35-year celebrations. The service first started in Cornwall and it has come a long way since then.

"Parkinson's UK provide a bursary for aspiring specialist nurses. It is named after our first specialist nurse, Rosmary McGuire. Areas across the country have modelled their teams on Cornwall. This makes me immensely proud."