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For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 19 April 2024 at 15:29
Innovative local palliative care service wins prestigious HSJ award
An innovative project which has seen EEAST join forces with health and care partners in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to improve the support provided to end of life patients has won a prestigious HSJ award.
The palliative care hub project was presented with top prize in the ‘primary care innovation of the year’ category at a ceremony held in London on Thursday.
The hub is a dedicated telephone service that helps patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals access palliative care support. It gives them the chance to call 111 and select option three to speak to a palliative care clinical nurse specialist who can provide medical advice to support patients approaching the end of their lives.
The service is commissioned by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and operated by Arthur Rank Hospice Charity in partnership with Herts Urgent Care, which provides the NHS 111 service. Operational staff and MiDOS leads from EEAST were involved in its development.
Daimon Wheddon, clinical lead with EEAST, said: “We are delighted that this innovative project has been recognised by the HSJ award judges. It is a great example of successful partnership working which is a providing a better end of life experience to patients and their families.
“The hub is bringing enormous benefits to our staff by giving them access to specialist palliative care advice and guidance while allowing them to fully involve the patient in decision making.
“Feedback from crews using the service has been excellent, as they tell us they feel reassured and supported and have witnessed first-hand the difference it makes to patients and their families.”
The HSJ awards judges said: “This innovative project demonstrated that it had an impact across all patient cohorts and the ability to support families and carers at the most vulnerable time in their lives. The project has a bigger potential for spread, which has been recognised by national organisations. The team seized the opportunities they had to make successful and life changing interventions.”
Published 24th November 2021