The new partnership is supported by the Welsh government, which announced that it would be investing over £900,000 to improve end of life care for people in the country – with a specific focus on expanding hospice at home services – at the end of last year.
Mark Drakeford, minister for health and social services, welcomed the scheme, calling it “an example of how partnership working can benefit individuals, families and carers”.
“Providing high-quality support at the end of life provides comfort to the person, and helps loved ones come to terms with their loss,” he said.
Marie Curie will coordinate the new scheme, with the charity’s healthcare assistants working alongside district nurses to provide an integrated service for people in the region. The partnership aims to reduce hospital admissions and enable more people to die at home.
Andrew Wilson-Mouasher, divisional general manager for Marie Curie in Wales, said that the charity was looking forward to working alongside the health board.
“This brilliant new partnership will bring together the skills and expertise of both organisations in order to provide better care for people in the area,” he explained.
“Allowing people at the end of their life to have choice over where they want to die, putting support in place to enable them to do that, is vitally important. This new service means that we will be better placed to deliver a service that really meets the needs of our patients.”
Kay Jeynes, interim director of nursing, PCIC clinical board at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, added: “This new service will provide care at home to some of our most vulnerable patients through an additional, specially trained and dedicated team. It means patients who wish to remain at home will be supported and receive appropriate care suitable for their individual needs in collaboration with district nurse teams, GPs and specialist palliative care teams from Marie Curie and George Thomas Hospice Care.”
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