There are many excellent resources and services locally to support patients and families through the difficulties of advanced illness. Sharing resources and forming partnerships with neighbouring organisations, is allowing more effective and efficient care, harnessing the best that each organisation can offer.
We work with other palliative care providers in a number of ways including education, clinical practice, audit, research and publications:
- Working with Kilfillan House Nursing Home – one of our Hospice doctors has worked alongside the staff at Kilfillan, bringing about huge improvement and confidence in the care of the dying patient. This example has been quoted in the new NHS 2008 End of Life Strategy
- Partnership with Grove House in St Albans – Grove House offers specialist day care for those with advanced illness. One of our St Francis doctors works at Grove House one day per week seeing Day Care patients and Outpatients referred by GP’s in St Albans.
- Working with Iain Rennie Hospice at Home – several staff at St Francis work very closely with their counterparts at Iain Rennie. Our education team is planning joint programmes, our senior nurses are exploring ways to work more closely to support patients at home and our medical team supports the Iain Rennie nursing team.
- Specialist Interest Respiratory and Heart Failure Group – our Senior Medical and Nursing Teams work closely with the Community Specialist Nurses supporting patients with advanced heart and lung disease. This group focuses on sharing skills, case discussion and empowerment of those working outside the Hospice supporting patients in other settings.
- Mount Vernon Cancer Network - The Network has formed links between many organisations and teams working across the NHS and voluntary sector to enhance the care of those with serious illness. Many staff members at St Francis are members of strategic network groups focusing on education, psychological care and best clinical practice.
Other partnerships include
- The University of Hertfordshire for the BA (Hons) in Cancer and Palliative Care
- Education for Health for the MSc in Respiratory Care – end stage respiratory care module
- Postgraduate centres within the West Herts NHS Trust
- Beds and Herts Local Medical Committee