Partners unite for Hospice at Home service

A new integrated partnership service is set to transform end of life care for people in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Cardiff and the Vale Marie Curie Hospice at Home service will be co-ordinated by Marie Curie, and will see the charity work with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to provide flexible, planned care for patients.

The new initiative, supported by new investment from Welsh Government, will see Marie Curie Healthcare Assistants, supported by Senior Nurses, working alongside District Nurses to provide a flexible, integrated service for people throughout Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The main aim of this new service is to make it possible for more people to be cared for and die a dignified death in their own home where this is their preference. It will also reduce avoidable admissions at a difficult and distressing time for patients and their families.

Andrew Wilson-Mouasher, Divisional General Manager for Marie Curie in Wales, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board to deliver the new Cardiff and the Vale Marie Curie Hospice at Home service. This brilliant new partnership will bring together the skills and expertise of both organisations in order to provide better care for people in the area.

“Allowing people at the end of their life to have choice over where they want to die, putting support in place to enable them to do that, is vitally important. This new service means that we will be better placed to deliver a service that really meets the needs of our patients.”

Kay Jeynes, Interim Director of Nursing, PCIC Clinical Board at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “This partnership with Marie Curie is a huge step forward in our mission to provide excellent end of life care to patients.

“This new service will provide care at home to some of our most vulnerable patients through an additional, specially trained and dedicated team. It means patients who wish to remain at home will be supported and receive appropriate care suitable for their individual needs in collaboration with District Nurse teams, GPs and Specialist Palliative Care teams from Marie Curie and George Thomas Hospice Care.”

Minister for Health and Social Services, Mark Drakeford, said: “This new service is an example of how partnership working can benefit individuals, families and carers at what can be a difficult time.

“Providing high-quality support at the end of life provides comfort to the person, and helps loved ones come to terms with their loss.

“I am pleased the Welsh Government is supporting this service as part of our £900,000 investment to expand hospice at home services across Wales.”

For more information about the services offered by Marie Curie, the UK’s leading terminal illness charity, please visit www.mariecurie.org.uk.

 -ENDS-