Specialist Service to Fill Care ‘Black Hole’
An at-home palliative care service for patients in Ceredigion will be launched next month, filling a “black hole” in care. The service will initially be available to patients with terminal illnesses registered with two GP surgeries in Aberystwyth and Lampeter. But it is hoped the service – an extension of the Beacon of Hope charity – will be rolled out to cover the whole of the county.
Currently, the only home palliative care services are limited to specialist advice from Macmillan nurses and hands-on care from district nurses, social services home care and Crossroads staff.
Marie Curie nurses and private nursing agencies deliver some out- of-hours care.
Sarah Davies, the Beacon of Hope charity’s director of nursing, said, “Since the development of the [Beacon of Hope] sitting service it has become apparent that there is an increasing demand for services that are flexible, responsive to need, a service that will cater for individuals with palliative and terminal illness as well as those suffering from cancer.
“Statutory services currently do not provide out-of-hours care that is widely available across the county. Other services available may come at a financial cost and those delivered out-of-hours often prioritise cancer patients and can be rigid in determining the shift patterns of nurses.”
It is estimated that 1% of the population needs palliative care services at any given time – the two pilot GP practices cover a population of 25,000 people.
The Hospice at Home nursing service will offer care to any patients registered with the two surgeries who are in the last year of their life. This will not only be people with cancer, but will also cover other diseases such as multiple sclerosis and end-stage renal failure.
So far, ten nurses have been recruited and the service believes it can provide 70 hours of care a week, although, as the service expands, it is hoped this will eventually rise to between 100 and 200 hours of nursing palliative care a week.
Ms Davies said, “The service is only a pilot at the moment because we want to see how much demand there is for palliative care in the first instance. We are hoping the nurses will be going into patients’ homes to provide either acute nursing care which could prevent a hospital admission or end-stage care.”
The Hospice at Home nursing service is an extension of the services already offered by the Beacon of Hope charity, which was set up seven years ago by Elizabeth and Roger Murphy.
The charity was started to meet the needs of people in Ceredigion who needed immediate help. It initially offered its Cysurfan service – comfort and hope – and later a sitting service, providing patients’ carers vital respite, enabling families to carry out seemingly simple tasks such as shopping. Mrs Murphy said, “The charity has been running for seven years and the hospice at home service is very much the flagship of the charity.” The Beacon of Hope Hospice at Home nurses will work in partnership with all existing statutory and voluntary services, providing a comprehensive service not currently replicated within the county of Ceredigion and surrounding area.: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:Q i find exercising a chore, are there some enjoyable alternatives to the gym? A Dancing is a fantastic way to keep your heart in shape. A bit of boogie can work wonders for your heart, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, it will help you to maintain the right weight for you and make you feel happier and less stressed. Everybody loves to dance, even if it’s just in the privacy of your own bedroom, so get your dancing shoes on and strut your stuff. You need half an hour of moderate intensity exercise every day, that’s something that gets your heart beating a little faster and makes you a little out of breathe and dancing is ideal. Q I want to start dancing as a form of exercise, but I am not as young as I used to be. What places would you suggest for the older generation?
A Have a boogie at your local disco or nightclub – you are never too old and these days anything goes when it comes to music so you may find yourself dancing to the same tracks you strutted your stuff to when you were younger. Venues often have different themes on different nights, there’s something for everyone. Or if you prefer there are dozens of dance classes that offer anything from hot salsa to jive and the recent Come Dancing programmes on television have generated renewed interest in ballroom dancing leading to even more dance classes available in most areas, covering lots of different types of dancing. Enrolling at a dance class is also a great way to meet new people and make friends. However, if you’re too shy to get down with the crowds, pump up the volume at home and have a boogie in your bedroom. If you need help with your footwork there are lots of dance DVDs to choose from and most start with basic steps then progress to full dance routines, so you can start at your level and work your way up. For more information and advice about healthy living, contact Heart Research UK on 0113 297 6206 or email lifestyle@heartresearch. org.uk
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