Designing a safe and high-quality model of nurse-led care for people living with Movement Disorders in rural and remote New South Wales

In late 2019, Western New South Wales Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN) received funding from a non-competitive Grant Opportunity – Primary Health Care Quality & Coordination Program – Movement Disorder Nurse Specialist (MDNS) Pilot. The grant offered by the Australian Government, Department of Health was for projects designed to improve access to specialised nursing care delivered in the community for people living with neurological conditions, including movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. The grant application included funding for a rigorous design and evaluation process to be undertaken by Associate Professor Rachel Rossiter (School of Nursing, Midwifery & Indigenous Health, Charles Sturt University). This initial document provides a review of contemporary research evidence relevant to the role of the MDNS in rural and regional areas to inform the design of the intervention and assist in undertaking: •A review of existing frameworks to identify where the MDNS pilot will reside, i.e.to integrate research with the WNSW PHN conceptual framework•An assessment and review of existing data tools used within Local Health Districts (LHDs), General Practice and Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) •A review of the Key Performance Indicators identified for this pilot and ensure that the project is aligned to match these •The design of a safe and high-quality model of care (described within a Clinical Governance Framework) for implementation into LHD community settings, General Practice and AMS to discuss with key stakeholders•The design of the optimal education program for Registered Nurses recruited to the project and align this with Benner’s stages of clinical competence, the Australasian Neuroscience Nurses’ Association Standards for Practice, International Guidelines on Advanced Practice Nursing 2020, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia standards and other relevant documents.•Initial design of the program logic Included in this document is information that outlines the design of the capacity building component of the project, governance issues, initial program logic and the first pass at the designed for the project evaluation.