St Luke’s hospital team commended for End of Life Care
St Luke’s Hospital Team have been commended for their services in the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) Report for Derriford Hospital ‘End of Life Care’, published 21 July 2015.
Providing specialist palliative care services alongside NHS professionals at Derriford Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital Team is a service of the charity St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth and operates across the entire hospital to offer specialist advice and care for any inpatient with a progressive life limiting illness.
The review took place as part of an inspection of Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust between 21 and 24 April 2015 by the CQC. The Report in summary identified several areas of ‘good’ practice at Derriford Hospital directly linked to the care St Luke’s Hospital Team provides. It stated:
“The care and support provided to patients at the end of their lives was outstanding. Patients and relatives told us that they felt included and involved in decisions about care and treatment, and that they had been treated as individuals, with their choices listened to and respected. Feedback from all patients and relatives was extremely complimentary about the care they had received and the staff who had delivered the care”.
The report then went on to compliment the seamless transition from hospital to the other end of life services provided by St Luke’s, both at home and in the hospice.
“The involvement with community services in patient care was integral. As a result discharges were seen to be managed quickly to meet patients’ needs. We heard and saw instances of how the Specialist Palliative Care Team (SPCT) within the hospital worked with the local Hospice and Hospice at Home team within the community to improve patient support”.
Chief Executive at St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth, Sally Taylor said: “We have been providing specialist end of life care in Derriford Hospital for some years now and are proud of the difference our staff have been able to make to so many families. We have had fantastic support from the staff and management of Derriford who really work hard to ensure that great care and support is there for hospital patients at the end of life”.
St Luke’s Consultant in Palliative Medicine based in Derriford Hospital, Dr Claire Haskins said: “ I am extremely proud of the St Luke’s Hospital Palliative Care Team who work very hard with staff across the Trust to ensure those patients admitted to Derriford Hospital, who are approaching the end of life, are treated with skill, care and compassion.”
The St Luke’s Hospital Team consists of 4 Doctors and 5 Specialist Nurses, dealing with 873 patient referrals in 2014/15. This involved a total of 4,263 face to face contacts with patients.
In addition to care for patients in hospital, St Luke’s are there to offer advice and emotional support for patients and their families. The Team are also heavily involved in delivering education in end of life care to nursing and medical staff across Derriford Hospital.
The full report is available to view at: www.cqc.org.uk
