[London, 8th Feb 2024] – HPAL is a unique palliative care and end of life care information resource aimed at clinicians, patients, and carers. The brainchild of Dr Ros Taylor MBE, (Medical Director, Harlington Hospice), and Dr Poppy Freeman, (award winning London GP), the platform offers expertise curated by clinicians across North West London and a service directory for each borough.
This website supports anyone living in North West London who interacts with palliative and end of life care, whether in a hospice, care home, or in their own home.
HPAL was developed in response to the lack of palliative care education in primary care in North West London. A first of its kind resource, it has been successfully transforming the way individuals access palliative care information, offering a user friendly and comprehensive platform.
The site can be found here, https://hpal.medindex.co.uk.
Dr Taylor and Dr Freeman commented on the site’s success since its launch in 2022: “It is very rewarding to know that HPAL supports carers and clinicians at the point of care to treat the symptoms that patients are suffering with at home.”
All the information offered, whether on the Clinician, Patient or Carer view, is in bite sized, easy to read snippets.
Take for example, the following article for patients and carers: Agitation and Restlessness in the Final Days. This piece offers brief advice and information for people supporting those close to them in their final moments, including the different approaches to care that they can try to achieve calm.
Other guidance focuses on the small things that can be done to support the wellbeing of people living with serious illness at home, including top tips on common conditions such as dry mouth and breathlessness, combining the best national and international guidance with expert advice from senior clinicians.
There are also articles that take a more social, legal, and personal planning approach. For example, highlighting the importance of Advanced Care Planning and thinking about organising your own future care, health, and wishes. Another example includes a focus on guidance for people facing bereavement and grief.
Finally, the site offers more medically focused articles for clinicians, including different medication conversion charts. For example, an article about opioid conversion which focuses on why it might be necessary to switch strong painkillers and how this can be done safely.
The local service directory offers detailed profiles on a range of healthcare services available in North West London, including pharmacies, helplines, charities, and support groups. These profiles include contact details, real time availability updates and brief synopses of the service. It features a robust search engine, facilitating easy navigation, allowing users to find these services based on location and topic.
Many of HPAL’s current users have spoken out about the significant benefits of having the platform available.
Family carer feedback:
“I wasn’t prepared for the challenges of caring for my dad at the end of his life. HPAL showed me how to move him in bed, how to treat his nausea and what services were available locally when I needed more help.”
Clinician feedback:
“Amazing and easy to follow for clinicians and carers. There are lots of invaluable resources and videos!”
Clinician feedback:
“A patient of our GP practice had been suffering with painful hiccups for over 2 weeks despite several consultations with other GPs. HPAL enabled me to prescribe effectively within a very short consultation, and his hiccups stopped within 2 hours.”
————————–
About HPAL:
HPAL, launched a few months ago, is the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between Medindex and Harlington Hospice. Dedicated to transforming healthcare information access, HPAL offers a comprehensive and user-friendly platform, connecting individuals with healthcare providers seamlessly. For more information, visit https://hpal.medindex.co.uk/
Leave a Reply