The dedicated ‘Gold Line‘ phone number aims to provide one point of contact for patients and their carers for help and advice, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, to support them in their preferred place of care wherever possible.
The pilot scheme, which will support patients who are on the Gold Standards Framework, is not expected to replace patients’ use of their GP and other community health care services during normal working hours but aims to enhance their care when daytime services have closed.
Calls will be answered by a team of experienced nurses in the Telehealth Hub at Airedale Hospital who are linked up to community-based teams, who can visit patients if necessary. Nurses will be able to access patients’ health records (with their permission), offer advice and support, and make contact with other services – such as the patient’s doctor, community nurses and the local hospice – if needed.
Drs Helen Livingstone and Linda Wilson, palliative care consultants at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know that these patients want to spend as much time at home as possible and by providing extra support we hope the Gold Line will help this to happen. However, hospital admissions can also be arranged if required.”
Dr Ian Fenwick, Bradford GP and the district’s clinical lead for cancer, said: “The new helpline will give patients and their carers quick and easy access to experienced nurses, who can offer advice and support and coordinate the most appropriate response to their needs.”
The new service is part of a new project by the Trust to use technology to improve the care for patients who are at the end of their life. The project has been made possible thanks to a £420,000 award from the Health Foundation.
Colleagues from across local health community including consultants, GPs, district nurses, a local hospice, patients and carers, have been involved in the project.
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