Scarborough's Saint Catherine's end-of-life home care service celebrates first anniversary

A hospice’s end-of-life home care service is celebrating its first anniversary.
By George Buksmann
Published 9th May 2023, 16:23 BST
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Saint Catherine’s Hospice launched the service last year across Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale to meet the growing demand for end-of-life care in patients’ homes.

Debbie King, senior sister at Saint Catherine’s, said: “We are finding that more and more people are wanting to be cared for at home when they coming to the end of their life, so being able to provide this specialist care and support in that setting is really important.”

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The Fast Track Home Care service is funded by NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and aims to ensure consistency in service provision across the region.

The home care service team: Michelle Thompson, left, Sue Boulton and Aimee Millward. (Photo: Saint Catherine's Hospice)The home care service team: Michelle Thompson, left, Sue Boulton and Aimee Millward. (Photo: Saint Catherine's Hospice)
The home care service team: Michelle Thompson, left, Sue Boulton and Aimee Millward. (Photo: Saint Catherine's Hospice)

“Thanks to the service, we are able to respect more patients’ wishes,” Ms King added. “The model of the service has meant that we are able to care for more patients in their own homes across a wider area than we have been able to in the past.”

The Fast Track Home Care service, which requires a referral from a healthcare professional, runs late into the evening, seven days a week, with out-of-hours care provided by district nurses and GP services along with telephone support available via Saint Catherine’s Palcall service.

Sue Boulton, junior sister and Fast Track Home Care Service Lead at Saint Catherine’s, said: “The service is invaluable and it has been great to be helping people in their own homes for a year already.

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“We get to know patients and their families on a really personal level when we are in their own homes and this helps us to provide outstanding care for everyone.

“The team is supportive of patients, families, carers and each other – I am really proud to be a part of this wonderful team.”

It has created 20 new jobs and has so far received positive feedback from families. One family who used the service said the care “made such a difference knowing that the team was coming in every day to help and care for mum”.

To find out more about the Fast Track Home Care service, visit Saint Catherine’s website or email general@saintcatherines.org.uk

Related topics:Saint CatherineScarboroughRyedaleWhitby