Expansion in palliative care service at NNUH

An expansion of the palliative care service at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) has increased the number of patients who can be referred to the palliative care team and ensures that the highest standards of end of life care are achieved seven days a week.

The trust has recruited additional specialist nurses and consultants to now deliver a seven-day service, as well an end of life educator post. These roles will enhance end of life care for NNUH patients and ensure that individualised care is always provided.

The team is already able to see patients between 9-5 Monday to Saturday and 9-1 on Sunday but from January 2018 this will increase to 9-5 every day of the week.

The service also offers rapid response palliative care assessment to patients in the A+E department and acute oncology services to ensure that patient’s symptoms are controlled as soon as they come to hospital, and so patients are facilitated to go home if that is their wish. The palliative care service can now also offer daily Symptom Management and Supportive Care Clinics to ensure that patients can be seen much earlier in their disease, for assessment and support.

Dr Nicola Holtom, Palliative Medicine Consultant said: “We are very pleased to offer this 7 day service to our patients and are now able to see most patients within 24 hours of referral.”

Dr Frankie Swords, Chief of Division for Medicine at NNUH said: “The NNUH palliative care team already provides a great deal of support to our patients, but this expansion will enable us to deliver the highest standard of supportive care much earlier to the patients who really need it, 7 days a week. This is great news for our patients.