New end of life care initiatives launch in Somerset

A range of new initiatives to help provide terminally ill people with improved care, support and information was launched on Thursday 22 July, at Taunton Racecourse.

Local terminally ill patients and their carers will now benefit from better information, co-ordination of care and support services in the community if they want to be cared for at home.

This will be made possible through the delivery of new services such as a care co-ordination centre, out of hours advice line, end of life care support workers providing heath, social and personal care and a website providing information on local care services and support.

Discharge nurses will help to enable quicker discharge from hospital and there will be enhanced training for care workers and ambulance staff so they can competently deliver end of life care.

These services have been developed through the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme, in partnership with Marie Curie Cancer Care, NHS Somerset and NHS North Somerset, local hospices, acute trusts, social care and a number of voluntary and independent sector organisations.

The Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme aims to improve local care and support services so that more people in Somerset have the choice of being cared for at home at the end of their lives.

Over 60 per cent of people in the UK would choose to die at home, surrounded by their family and friends, if they were terminally ill¹. Across Somerset, approximately one in five people die at home.

An in-depth list of the services being rolled out is detailed below.

Jan Hull, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Somerset said: “All of the organisations in Somerset and North Somerset involved in the Delivering Choice project have worked extremely hard to design the new service proposals. The new services are now being put in place, and I am confident that end of life care will be more patient-centred, and more integrated than before.”

Chris Born, Chief Executive, NHS North Somerset said: “There is tremendous interest and commitment to improving end of life care in North Somerset. The Delivering Choice Programme has brought together the experience of patients, carers and many different service providers so that we can work together to achieve greater choice for people at the end of their lives, and their carers. All partners have been deeply involved with the programme to ensure that the new services we are developing can be right for patients, cost-effective, sustainable and are building on the good practice that is already happening.”

If you or someone you know would benefit from these services please contact 01278 423 893 or email Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme Manager Karen Burfitt at karen.burfitt@mariecurie.org.uk

You can find out more at www.mariecurie.org.uk/deliveringchoice

Below are the new services launching across the county:

NHS Somerset

Coordination centre – provided by Somerset Community Health the centre co-ordinates all nursing and social care services on behalf of healthcare professionals for patients being cared for at home. Patients and carers can contact the coordination centre directly for information about the care they are receiving and other relevant services available in their community such as carer support.

Discharge nurses - based in Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital these nurses identify patients who are nearing the end of their lives and can be cared for at home. They will work with care professionals in the hospital and community, and with the new coordination centre, to ensure that patients can be discharged without unnecessary delays. This service is provided by St Margaret’s Hospice in partnership with Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Out of hours advice and response line – for patients and carers to access ‘out of hours’ for advice and support, as well as referral to the appropriate community services.

Education and training for domiciliary care workers, ambulance staff and GPs - training programmes on end of life care provided by St Margaret’s Hospice and Dorothy House Hospice are being rolled out more widely.

Website for patients and carers - useful and wide-ranging information on local care services and support will be provided at www.nssomersetendoflifecare.nhs.uk

NHS North Somerset

End of life care support workers – supporting the District Nursing team, these support workers will provide health, social and personal care to patients who are terminally ill, so they can remain at home.

End of life care facilitators – will support GPs, District Nurses and care home staff on the use of end of life care tools, helping to meet the needs of patients and carers.

Single point of access for care coordination – a team responsible for co-ordinating care packages for terminally ill patients who are cared for at home will enable professionals to get up to date information on patients’ conditions, their care needs and preferences. Patients and carers will also be able to contact the coordination centre for information on the care they are receiving and on other services and support they can benefit from.

‘Just in case’ medication box – available in patients’ homes this will allow community care professionals to administer medication promptly should a patient’s condition change. This helps prevent unnecessary calls to emergency services and inappropriate hospital admissions.

Website for patients and carers - providing useful and wide-ranging information on local care services and support, as well as practical advice on caring for someone with a terminal illness. www.nssomersetendoflifecare.nhs.uk

-ENDS-

References

^{1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,973 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between January 23-25 2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).↩}