We are really pleased to announce the arrival of Hospice at Home – a two year pilot launched as a partnership between Blackpool and Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Groups and Trinity Hospice.

The service started on September 1^st and will support patients overnight in their own homes as they enter the final months of life.

The pilot is being launched in response to the call for greater patient choice; for some people their last and greatest wish is to die at home in familiar surroundings.

The hope is that fewer unplanned hospital admissions will be needed if carers have the reassurance of Hospice at Home nurses just a phone call away. Many 999 calls are made at night as families worry about a loved one’s deterioration and don’t want to wait until the GP surgery opens to get advice or prescribed medication for pain and symptom control.

There are two Hospice at Home teams, each consisting of a registered nurse and a healthcare assistant. One team will primarily cover the ‘north’ of the Fylde coast, the other the ‘south’. The service runs 10pm to 8am seven days a week and the length of each home visit will depend on the patient’s needs.

Hospice at Home will work closely with GPs and district nurses and patients will be referred to the team using specific criteria. 

In preparation for this week’s launch, the newly recruited Hospice at Home teams completed a comprehensive induction process, which included working with Trinity’s Community Nurse Specialists and also with district nurses.