End of Life pathway helping patients have a dignified death

Since August of last year, the End of Life care pathway from Derriford’s acute site (Emergency Department and hospital wards) to the specialist end of life beds at Skylark and Kingfisher on the Mount Gould site, has been providing patients an easily accessed, quieter space with dedicated side rooms enabling better deaths for patients and their families.   

The Emergency Department (ED) does not provide the right environment for those at end of life. Patients at end of life (or at risk of dying during their admission) arriving at ED are supported by specialist ED End of Life practitioners, alongside Marie Curie Health Care Assistants.  

Those roles, and the end of life beds at Mount Gould, have been a partnership pilot involving the Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, with support from St Luke’s clinical staff. In 12 months, our ED practitioners, along with Marie Curie colleagues, have provided a service to 257 patients, returning 173 patients to community care settings. This has involved joining up care with the St Luke’s Hospice inpatient unit and community team, Livewell community colleagues, dedicated care home staff, and collaboration with SWAST – a great example of the HLP working to benefit patients at the end of their lives. This collaboration has meant that more patients can be cared for away from the busyness of the main UHP site, whilst releasing acute beds. 

 

“ED is not the right environment for anybody to die. There has to be alternatives - we only get one chance to get End of Life Care right.” Ali Griffiths, Advanced End of Life/Palliative Care Practitioner

The pathway provides a stark difference between the experience patients may previously have had in the Emergency Department, and families have been quick to acknowledge the difference it has made to them for their loved ones in their final days.   

Sisters Gail and Donna Walker are one example. Their mother, Shirley, was one of the first patients to use the pathway after she fell in the shower at home and was found 30 hours later. She was transferred to the Emergency Department and remained in care by several teams from ED to the Discharge Assessment Unit. She was back in ED again soon after, and after discovering Shirley’s bowel cancer had spread to her brain, she was admitted to Kingfisher on the end of life pathway. Shirley died on 01 September, 2023.  

  

Donna and Gail were both so thankful for the care provided, they raised money to purchase artwork, further improving the facilities on the wards for the benefit of future families and patients. They also wanted to speak about their mum, and the wonderful care she received – you can watch their story below.  

“We have worked closely in the partnership to have end of life beds secured at Mount Gould Hospital, and I am so pleased this service is available for patients and their families,” said Shaen Milward, Trust End of Life Lead. 

“Our End of Life team at UHP work so hard to secure timely transfer down to Kingfisher and Skylark, and they are really special people to provide outstanding care to patients at the end of their lives. Staff at Mount Gould are phenomenal in the care they provide, have consistently gone the extra mile; this is a great example of partners in healthcare working together to give patients the best possible outcome in their final days.   

“The wards are comfortable, peaceful, quiet, and the views of the estuary are tranquil. Having feedback from the families of patients who have been transferred from ED down to Kingfisher and Skylark saying their experience has been a positive one gives justification to all the work that has been done.”