Four hospices have joined forces in a pioneering partnership aimed at helping hundreds more people across Staffordshire access specialist palliative and end of life care closer to home.
Dougie Mac, Katharine House Hospice, St Giles Hospice and Compton Care are working together on what they believe to be one of the first collaborations of its kind in England.
Their new, more coordinated approach to supporting people with complex palliative and end of life care needs will see the expansion of rapid response and hospice virtual ward services across the region.
The aim is to give more people access to specialist support when their condition changes or urgent care is needed, helping them remain in their preferred place of care and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.
The service, backed by investment from NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board, will also support patients to leave hospital sooner where appropriate, with specialist hospice teams helping them return home or move to another suitable care setting, relieving “significant” pressure on hospital beds.
David Webster, Chief Executive of Dougie Mac Hospice, described the partnership as a “genuine landmark event” for hospice care in the county.
He said: “Not only have we secured collective funding for the next two years to provide specialist support beyond the extensive community services we already deliver, but by unifying our resources and expertise we have shown that hospices can spearhead essential change in our health system.
“We may even have created a template for others to follow, with the voluntary sector and the NHS partnering in a way that provides personalised, joined up care to people when they most need it, whilst freeing up valuable NHS beds.
“The four hospices share a goal of expanding hospice care at home, preventing unnecessary admissions to hospital and widening access to specialist, holistic, hospice care.
“This pioneering collaboration helps us do that at scale. Hundreds more patients will benefit from our collective approach and I’m personally delighted and proud to be part of this contemporary example of hospice care.”
The Rapid Response and Hospice Virtual Ward scheme builds on the hospices’ existing 24-hour Specialist Advice and Referral Line and comes as demand for palliative and end of life care continues to rise.
Specialist hospice teams will work closely with NHS partners to provide faster symptom management, crisis intervention and proactive care planning.
