Contacts
Contact:
Gill Dunn
Service Development Manager
Organisation:
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Cardiac Network
Room 233, Highfield Cliftonville Road Northampton Northamptonshire NN1 5DN United Kingdom
Tel:
01604 615313
01604 615010
Email:
Website:
Contact:
Ella Fullerton
Chief Executive
Organisation:
Lakelands Day Care Hospice
Butland Road Oakley Vale Corby Northamptonshire NN18 8LX United Kingdom
Tel:
01536 747755
01536 747788
Email:
Website:
Case study:
11 May 2010
Hospice day therapy (palliative and supportive programme) for patients with advanced heart failure in Lakelands Day Care Hospice
Key points
- A day hospice in Corby is running a special palliative therapy programme for patients with advanced heart failure
- The pilot programme, lasting 16 weeks, has enhanced quality of life, improved symptom control and may have cut hospital admissions
- The hospice is seeking funding to continue the programme, currently met from existing resources.
Lakelands Day Care Hospice in Corby is running a special programme for patients with advanced heart failure (NYHA 3 and 4), giving them access to a wide range of palliative care therapies.
Although still at the pilot stage, those who have been through the programme report their quality of life has improved because they are able to go out more, enjoy peer support and meet others with the same condition.
Their symptom control has also improved and anecdotal evidence suggests hospital admissions have been reduced while the patients were on the programme.
The 16-week programme offers patients an individualised patient management plan that includes nursing care, complementary therapies, emotional support, coping strategies, end of life discussions, peer group support and symptom control.
The hospice team routinely monitors patients to prepare and plan for crisis and minimise inappropriate actions.
Carers are also offered respite care.
Patients are able to see the heart failure clinical nurse specialist while at the hospice and will in future have the benefit of welfare benefits information and advice.
They are referred either by GPs or through hospital admission.
They will then be visited by the heart failure nurse to assess their suitability for the programme.
New recruits spend a day at the hospice where they have an initial clinical assessment and a management plan is developed.
Patients have to have a resuscitation status before coming onto the programme.
But there have been difficulties in diagnosing a life-threatening illness because not all patients are told of their condition, or wish to speak about it.
Secondary care and the ambulance service have also required help to recognise end of life status and not necessarily admit to hospital if a patient’s condition worsens.
Originally carers were invited to attend the start of the programme as it was thought it would act as respite for them.
However, some wanted to stay, and this caused some problems.
The next programme will have a separate carers’ element so patients can meet together separately.
It is also planned to set up a support group for patients once the programme is over where they will still be able to meet each other.
Transport has posed a problem.Patients who are not able to get to the hospice unaided have to pay for their transport.
And because the programme covers a wide area, it is not feasible for the hospice to offer to provide something like a minibus.
The programme currently receives no funding despite the fact it has necessitated opening the hospice for an extra day.
So far the hospice has used existing resources but it will need additional funding to continue the programme.
It also wants to extend the programme to other hospices in the area.
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