PATCH supporting Palliative Care nursing development
PATCH Director and Palliative Care Lead Nurse Claire O'Neill talks to nurses who have received funding from PATCH about their experiences.
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Patch is the first charity specifically to support 24/7 specialist palliative care for patients in Scottish hospitals. We will do this by funding hospitals to provide resources such as dedicated beds, staff, advisory services and research.
Most hospitals have access to specialist palliative care for only 25% of the week, namely Monday to Friday 9am–5pm.
It is not, at present, obligatory for hospitals to have specialist palliative care available on site 24/7. [1]
Imagine how much better patient care would be if all patients had skilled, specialist palliative care available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. That’s what we aim to do.
- could provide two sessions of complementary therapy.
- £50
- could provide ten sessions of physiotherapy to help patients go home.
- £500
- could provide palliative care pharmacy input for the hospital for two months.
- £5000
- could fund one PATCH bed staffed by a specialist palliative care team for six weeks.
- £10,000
- could provide a patient with care from a palliative care nurse for six months.
- £25,000
- could fund one PATCH bed staffed by a palliative care specialist team for one year.
- £150,000
Skilled palliative care needs to be a core activity of all hospitals.
PATCH is dedicated to supporting hospitals to improve palliative care and ensuring patients receive high quality palliative care if needed, when they need it — 24 hours a day seven days a week.
- Patients and families. We want patients and families to have confidence that staff will take the time to talk over what is happening and to help them and their families talk about further care.
- Staff. We are addressing the need for more research about hospital-based palliative care, so that treatments and care can be based on solid evidence.
- Hospitals. If symptoms and concerns are dealt with more rapidly, there will be fewer complaints about care and patients will be able to get home sooner (if they wish).
Board
Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri MD FRSE FRCS
PATCH Patron
Steven Thompson
Director of Digital Services
Kate Forster
Director
Dr Gordon Paterson OBE FRCPEdin
Interim Chairman
Dr Pamela Levack FRCP
Medical Director
Mrs Trudy McLeay MSc DCRR
Secretary
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