Healthcare Assistant Cheryl
Durrant of the Lincolnshire
Delivering Choice Programme
The project has now run for its full three-year lifespan – and managers at the local NHS trust are keen for services to carry on.
The trust will now fully fund the rapid response team, discharge community link nurse, carer support group and palliative care coordination centre in the county.
Project Manager Jackie Booth said: “The trust will be funding services from April 1, provided Marie Curie Cancer Care manages them for the next six months.
“Over the summer, we will be working on a procurement process. Then from October 1, any provider will be able to bid to run the services. The trust are keen to expand them to cover the whole county of Lincolnshire.”
Jackie, who has been running the project since its launch in October 2004, says she has enjoyed the last three years.
“It’s been a rollercoaster journey that I wouldn’t have missed for the world,” she said. “There have been ups and downs – but looking back it’s been fantastic, and the final evaluations were brilliant. We’ve had a real impact on patient care, and improved services for patients and carers.”
Jackie is now working as Senior Project Manager across some of the charity’s other Delivering Choice Projects.
National Programme Director and Research & Development Advisor Dr Nicky Agelopoulos said: “The project has been a great success. We managed to double the number of patients who die at home, which was one of our main targets, and patient and carer satisfaction with our services was very high.
“The economic evaluation of the project shows that moving services from home to the community didn’t create any extra cost.
“The next step is to share the knowledge and experience we have gained, and get more areas to become part of the programme while continuing with our other flagship projects.”
March 2008
