Pioneering service improves support for people living with a terminal illness across Calderdale

A new Calderdale Palliative Care Service has officially launched which supports people living with a terminal illness out of hours without the need for unnecessary (and often distressing) hospital admissions, as well as offering specialist training to health and social care professionals across Calderdale.

The Calderdale Palliative Care Service, commissioned by Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group and delivered in partnership by Marie Curie, Overgate Hospice and Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is available 365 days a year to make sure that terminally ill people and their families can access the right care, when and where they need it.

The 27 month pilot which began in March provides urgent out-of-hours care to those in need of urgent specialist advice between the hours of 11.15pm to 8.15am. This includes providing nursing care to patients and support and advice to families and carers, either face to face or over the phone.

The service aims to increase the number of people being cared for and dying in their preferred place as well as reducing the number of unnecessary and often distressing hospital admissions.

Since beginning in March the service has seen almost 150 patients resulting in a reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions. The service is already having an impact on supporting patients to die in their preferred place, whether at home or within a care home.

The pilot also includes an educational role which offers training in end of life care to clinical teams in the community including GPs, district nurses and care home staff. This element is delivered by a specialist educator employed by Overgate Hospice. This specialist educator in palliative care will deliver a programme of education focussed on areas of care which include advance care planning, managing symptoms and emotional support.

Charles Thompson, Marie Curie Business & Service Development Manager, said:
 
“This exciting new partnership is an excellent example of how different organisations can work together to pool our combined expertise and resources to deliver an innovative service that really benefits local people living with a terminal illness, and their families. Since commencing in March the service has made a real difference to terminally ill people across Calderdale, ensuring they get the care they need, when they need it.”

Angela Walton, Clinical Services Director at Overgate Hospice said:

“We are pleased to be part of this new partnership arrangement which allows us to share our specialist palliative care knowledge and skills within this new educator role in the community. We intend to deliver education that meets the learning and training needs of a diverse workforce of health and social care professionals. We recognise the clinical expertise of colleagues within Calderdale and aim to support the sharing of good practice to better meet the needs and wishes of patients and their families.”

The Trust’s Assistant Director of Commissioning and Partnerships, Rob Aitchison, said:

“To be able to team up with our partners in this way means a lot to the Trust. We know the difference it will make to our patients who can now receive the treatment and care they need, when they need it and in their own homes supported by their families.  This is an exciting new way of supporting local patients and at the heart of it is a commitment to provide a better service for our patients.”

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