Marie Curie and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

In Northumbria, an innovative partnership means our registered nurses and senior healthcare assistants are an integral part of NHS palliative care teams across Northumbria and North Tyneside.

The challenge: not enough high quality palliative care

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust   provides hospital and community services to more than half a million people, and there was an awareness that more high quality palliative care was needed.

There was a particular desire to ensure care was well connected across hospitals and the community, with patients receiving a seamless service.

The solution: joined up nursing teams with specialist training

We worked with the trust to create the jointly-funded Marie Curie @ Northumbria service.

Palliative care nursing teams in three hospitals and across the community now work as one, which means patients, families and carers receive consistent care.

Support in the community

In the community, Marie Curie offers a rapid response service. Our nurses and healthcare assistants, all of whom have specialist training in end of life care, work with NHS clinical nurse specialists to provide care and support within an hour of receiving a call.

We can help address any worsening symptoms, and offer support to families and carers. In turn, we make it possible for patients to stay at home, which is often where they want to be at the end of their lives.

Support in hospital

If a patient is in hospital, Marie Curie nurses are again on hand – working alongside their NHS nursing colleagues to provide expert clinical care and emotional support at end of life.

We can also support discharge, handing over to our community colleagues to ensure patients spend the final part of their lives at home.

The outcome: more people able to die where they choose

In 2016/17, 85% of patients supported by our rapid response nursing team died in their place of choice. And 96% of patients were seen by our hospital teams within four hours of referral.