St Barnabas Hospice leads the way for innovative healthcare in Lincolnshire

On the back of winning the Michael Howard Award from Hospice UK, the Community Care Nurse Specialists at St Barnabas Hospice have picked up the Innovation in Healthcare and Wellbeing award at the Lincolnshire Technology and Innovation Awards hosted by CityX.

Coupled with their double award win, the Hospice is delighted to announce that this service, which was originally given funding from Lincolnshire County Council for two years, has now been awarded permanent support and funding going forwards.

Tracey Perrett, Head of Service, Hospitals and Special Projects at Lincolnshire County Council said, “This is a great example of the impact of collaboration and innovative working – delivered with a shared vision and making a difference to people and their families at the end of life. Lincolnshire is the only place that has this service, with the county council grant funding. And the great news going forward is that it’s been agreed to support this service on a permanent basis.”

The service came about when Kerry Bareham, Nurse Consultant at St Barnabas Hospice, penned a dissertation for her MSc which highlighted the need for more support in hospitals in identifying palliative care needs. This research informed a business case for the role of Community Care Nurse Specialists.

L-R: Julie Bishop (PCCC Clinical Lead at St Barnabas), Ashleigh Robinson (Community Care Nurse Specialist at St Barnabas), Tracy Perrett (Head of Service, Hospitals and Special Projects at Lincolnshire County Council)

Julie Bishop, PCCC Clinical Lead Nurse at St Barnabas Hospice said, “The Community Care Nurse Specialist service is a fantastic example of collaboration. The organisations share the vision of identifying patients that would benefit from palliative care services as early as possible.

“This early identification helps people get timely support, enabling the patient to remain at the centre of their care, making important choices about how and where they would like their care . Early identification also offers opportunities for palliative rehabilitation which helps support a good quality of life, which enables people to live as fully as possible for as long as possible.

“By working closely together, we have greater understanding and respect for each other’s roles and responsibilities, sharing knowledge and experience in a safe environment to benefit the people and their families who are referred to our service.”

The Community Care Nurse Specialist roles are now a highly valued part of the local healthcare system, and it is anticipated that this work will be able to expand across other hospital settings that care for the residents of Lincolnshire.