Atherton Care Village Pilots Hospice Scheme
Specialist care village, Belong Atherton, has partnered with Wigan and Leigh Hospice to launch the Hospice in Your Care Home scheme in a bid to enhance the quality of palliative and end-of-life care available to village residents.
The scheme, currently being piloted over two years in eight care facilities across the North West region, has been designed to prevent individuals from being unnecessarily admitted to hospital in their last few weeks and days of life.
Tracy Paine, Operations Director at Belong, said of the partnership: “Without the correct training, some of our staff lack the confidence and experience to support residents and their families at the end of life which, unfortunately, can result in some individuals being admitted to hospital. Our aim at Belong is to provide a ‘home for life’, and we know that, when provided with skilled and compassionate care, most individuals prefer to pass away in the comfort of their home with their families. We look forward to seeing our customers and staff benefit from the lessons the scheme can teach us.”
Supported by a team of qualified nurses and healthcare assistants, staff will take part in training sessions and clinical skills workshops to enhance the end-of-life experience for residents and their families, offering more comfort and support for the individual and improved bereavement support for relatives. If successful, it is hoped that the scheme will be rolled out to all care facilities in the region, and findings will be presented nationally to help to improve the model of palliative and end-of-life care in the UK.
Nicola Johnstone, Lead Nurse at Belong Atherton, added:
“Running the Hospice in your Care Home scheme at Belong Atherton has helped us to identify areas of end-of-life care that we can improve on. We aim to provide comfort and support to our customers at every stage of their journey with us, including at the end of life, so we are delighted to receive professional guidance and support from the team at Wigan and Leigh Hospice to help us to achieve this.”
