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Macmillan community specialist palliative care
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About the service
The Macmillan community specialist palliative care team support people with advanced progressive illness and their families. Referrals to the team can be made from the point of diagnosis to last hours/days of life. The specialist team includes:
- clinical nurse specialists
- palliative medicine consultants
- physiotherapist
- occupational therapist
- dietician
- social worker
The team are all specialists in palliative care and provide support to generalist teams (for example district nurses and GPs) and direct care for people with persistent, severe or complex problems relating to their illness. Palliative care needs may be physical, psychological, social or spiritual.
The team works in partnership with all other services and has particularly close links to Barnsley Hospital palliative care team and Barnsley Hospice.
Why would someone choose the service?
- The team will offer a service which thinks about you as an individual
- The team works closely with other palliative care services in Barnsley so will help to support a coordinated approach to care
- The team all have specialised training and skills and will help to ensure people have the best possible quality of care
- Every member of the team is committed to helping people to have the best possible quality of life
- In a recent survey when current patients and families were asked to evaluate the service:
- 100% of people felt they were involved in decisions about their care
- 97% felt they were given enough time to discuss their concerns with the health professionals
- 100% said they were extremely likely or likely to recommend the service to their family and friends if they needed similar care
Staff you may meet
- Dietitians use the science of food to help people to make good choices about food and lifestyle. Nutrition is an important part of recovery and wellbeing. All service users admitted to a Trust ward have their nutritional state assessed.
- There are more than 60 different specialities that doctors work within the NHS. Each is unique but there are many characteristics which are common. Roles range from working in a hospital to being based in the community as a GP.
- Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.
- Occupational therapy is the assessment and treatment of physical and psychiatric conditions using specific, purposeful activity to prevent disability and promote independent function in all aspects of daily life.
- The NHS employs a wide range of clinical staff, it wouldn’t be possible to list them all on this website! All our clinical staff are skilled, dedicated professionals who adhere to high standards of training and work-place practice.
- Physiotherapists help people to improve their range of movement in order to promote health and well being. This can help people to live more independently.
- Receptionists are the first link for many patients and visitors. They often work on their own or with one or two other receptionists, greeting patients as they arrive and check them in. They might also collect patient notes and ensure that these vital records go to the right healthcare professional. In a clinic, they may make appointments and arrange patient transport.
- Social workers help, support and protect people who are facing difficulties in their lives. They help people to take positive steps to overcome problems and improve their lives. This could involve assessing and reviewing a service user’s situation, building relationships with service users and their families and agreeing what practical support someone needs.
- Therapy is a broad term and can range from occupational therapists to behavioural therapists. Our therapists are trained in their specialist area and type of therapy to make sure we can offer the very best care.
Why a professional should choose the service
- The team is a multi-professional team which ensures a holistic and person-centred approach
- All members of the team have specialised training including advanced communication skills and therefore have developed expert knowledge and skills in palliative care
- The team has established networks and relationships with the health and social care providers in Barnsley which support a consistent approach to generalist as well as specialist palliative care
- People referred to the service will be contacted within 48 hours
- When the team is involved all people will have an individualised care plan which has been developed in partnership with them and will address their preferred preferences including place of care
- The service is compliant with relevant NICE guidance and standards
- The team provides a 7 day week service
- Some members of the team are independent prescribers and we are working towards every clinical nurse specialist being an independent prescriber
- Team members attend a weekly specialist palliative care meeting with Barnsley’s specialist palliative care providers to ensure a coordinated approach
- The team provides leadership for palliative care in Barnsley ensuring best practice models.
- The team are committed to ensuring that the population of Barnsley receive the best palliative care possible
- In a recent survey of current patients and families using the service 86% of people rated it excellent and 14% as good
Support offered
- Following an assessment a plan of care will be developed in partnership with the person and, if appropriate, their family
Intervention provided may be at different levels according to the person’s needs:
- Level 1 signposting and education or telephone advice/support for other professionals
- Level 2 support and education for other staff at a one-off home visit
- Level 3 complex needs identified which require short term involvement
- Level 4 person has ongoing complex need requiring longer term involvement.
Care interventions may include:
- Education for the person, family and other professionals to maximise the quality of life
- Symptom management support including pharmacological and non pharmacological management, this may include management of pain, sickness, breathlessness, anxiety
- Managing emotional distress this may be for the person, their family including children and including bereavement preparation
- Support for the person and their family to develop strategies to maximise their level of function, quality of life and self care. This may include mobility, eating and drinking, fatigue management, aids and adaptations, social and spiritual issues, adjustment to the impact of their illness and treatment
Outcomes
- Optimising a person’s quality of life when they have an advancing life-limiting illness
- To help the person and their family to adapt to and live with their illness and treatment
- To support a person to die in their preferred place of care
- To provide highest possible quality of care
- To provide support and education to the wider generalist team both formally and informally
Referrals accepted from:
A & E, AHPs, Carers/family, CMHTs, Consultants, Courts, Drug/alcohol agencies, GP staff, GPs, Health visitors, Hospital staff, Housing associations, Local authority staff, Midwives, Other NHS services, Other Trust services, Police, Single Point of Access team
Referral criteria:
- Referral to the specialist palliative care team should be considered for people with life-limiting illness and their family when they have complex needs and/or a level of need which is beyond the scope of the current caring team. The service is primarily for those over 18. Health or social care professional must have the person’s consent for referral
- The person may be a resident in their own home, care home or Kendray Hospital