North West London Integrated Care System (NWL ICS) are currently carrying out a review of the Community based specialist palliative care (CSPC) services for Adults (18+) across eight NWL boroughs. This programme is following on from the palliative care review work undertaken in 2019/20 across 4 of our CCGs – Brent, West London, Central London and Hammersmith & Fulham CCG.
By Community-based Specialist Palliative Care (CSPC), we are a referring to specialist level of palliative care that is delivered in a setting that is not within a hospital or a GP surgery, but rather in a patient’s own home, a care home, a hospice and a community hospital or centre. Examples of these types of care services include – hospice bedded inpatient care, Hospice day and outpatient services, care at a Nursing Home, community specialist palliative care nursing team providing care and support in the patient’s home, Hospice@home service.
Why are we doing this Work?
- Improving Palliative and end of life care (PEOLC) is a national and ICS priority
- We have some excellent community-based specialist palliative care services and committed partners and we want to build on this excellence and support our services to be as sustainable as possible for the future.
- We do however have variation in access, quality and level of service across NWL – trying to achieve consistency will drive our approach
- There are also some immediate challenges - workforce, sustainable funding (given impact on the charitable sector during the pandemic) and one our inpatient units is suspended.
Our Vision:
- NW London residents and their families/ carers have equal access to high quality community-based specialist palliative and end of life care and support, that is coordinated, and which from diagnosis through to bereavement reflects their individual needs.
- Our priorities of this programme of work are in line with the NHSE/I triple aim for Palliative and end of life care