Case study:

11 May 2010

Development of a Citizens Advice Bureau service to support palliative/end of life care patients in Worcestershire

Key points

Palliative care patients and their carers are receiving quick access to advice and information thanks to Citizens Advice Bureau service, which has been set up in Worcestershire.

The service, which is the result of a partnership between the hospices, CAB, social services and the PCT, consists of two staff working 60hrs per week.

The CAB holds the CAB posts and provides training and supervision to staff.

As a result clinical staff feel confident their patients are receiving the best information available.

Previously they were not always sure the advice they gave was the most relevant.

The project followed a successful pilot study in one part of the county.

The CAB, the three local hospices, social services and the PCT met to plan the project and ensure equity across the county.

A business plan was then presented to the PCT, social services and hospice trust boards and a project group set up to monitor the project’s progress.

The project is being funded for the first year by the three hospices with agreement in principle to shared funding by the PCT and social services after that.

The project team has monitored progress within each locality and is able to discuss any challenges with all stakeholders including the CAB staff before they become problems.

It is hoped in future to expand the service by one whole time equivalent to give the team the opportunity to get involved with teaching others.

N.B. The project has no dedicated website but information about it will appear on the PCT/hospice’s websites in future.