Nursing team reach national award finals

A service set up by a Lincolnshire Specialist nursing team in collaboration with other service providers including the Macmillan Palliative Community Nursing Service, St Barnabas Hospice and Marie Curie, has been shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards 2022. 

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) led on the development of a Palliative Single Point of Access (PSPA) service for patients, families and carers, to have one daytime phone number to call for help and advice. Prior to this, there were numerous contact details for various organisations involved in the care of their loved ones and this resulted in confusion, delays and frustration.

LCHS’s Macmillan palliative clinical nurses, with help from St Barnabas nurses initially answered the PSPA, but as the number of calls increased the countywide Macmillan service stepped up to support and the PSPA became an integral part of their role.

The Countywide Macmillan Team then worked in collaboration with palliative care providers in Lincolnshire and other LCHS services as it soon became clear just how much the PSPA benefited Lincolnshire patients. The number of phone calls to the PSPA grew over the first year from 26 in the first month, to around 350 calls a month.

Kay Howard, Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist said: “We’re now 16 months into this new service and the PSPA has become an essential element of palliative care provision in Lincolnshire.

“We will continue to work hard to improve palliative care provision and patient and carer experience in Lincolnshire.

“We’d also like to disseminate the success of the PSPA to other areas of the country, to share how we have improved palliative care provision and helped patients, carers and families.”

The PSPA now provides specialist palliative support for patients and their families, which has progressed since inception to be accessible 24 hours a day every day.

Jackie Rizan, Macmillan Team Leader said: “I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in setting up and running this service. It has been a real team effort and not just within LCHS but all our palliative care colleagues in Lincolnshire who have worked hard to give patients a high-quality service.”

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London at the end of October.

A service set up by a Lincolnshire Specialist nursing team in collaboration with other service providers including the Macmillan Palliative Community Nursing Service, St Barnabas Hospice and Marie Curie, has been shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards 2022. 

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) led on the development of a Palliative Single Point of Access (PSPA) service for patients, families and carers, to have one daytime phone number to call for help and advice. Prior to this, there were numerous contact details for various organisations involved in the care of their loved ones and this resulted in confusion, delays and frustration.

LCHS’s Macmillan palliative clinical nurses, with help from St Barnabas nurses initially answered the PSPA, but as the number of calls increased the countywide Macmillan service stepped up to support and the PSPA became an integral part of their role.

The Countywide Macmillan Team then worked in collaboration with palliative care providers in Lincolnshire and other LCHS services as it soon became clear just how much the PSPA benefited Lincolnshire patients. The number of phone calls to the PSPA grew over the first year from 26 in the first month, to around 350 calls a month.

Kay Howard, Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist said: “We’re now 16 months into this new service and the PSPA has become an essential element of palliative care provision in Lincolnshire.

“We will continue to work hard to improve palliative care provision and patient and carer experience in Lincolnshire.

“We’d also like to disseminate the success of the PSPA to other areas of the country, to share how we have improved palliative care provision and helped patients, carers and families.”

The PSPA now provides specialist palliative support for patients and their families, which has progressed since inception to be accessible 24 hours a day every day.

Jackie Rizan, Macmillan Team Leader said: “I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in setting up and running this service. It has been a real team effort and not just within LCHS but all our palliative care colleagues in Lincolnshire who have worked hard to give patients a high-quality service.”

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London at the end of October.