Charity teams up with North Mid to improve end-of-life care

Palliative care consultants and a team of Marie Curie nurses will work with colleagues at the Edmonton hospital to improve experiences for patients

Marie Curie and North Mid leaders outside the hospital

An end-of-life charity has launched a new specialist palliative care support service at North Mid.

The new service run by Marie Curie will see two palliative care consultants, a clinical fellow and a team of the charity’s nurses and healthcare assistants working with colleagues at North Middlesex University Hospital to improve experiences for patients in the last year of life.

Marie Curie says the aim is to help identify patients with palliative care needs earlier during emergency admissions, support clinical decision making and co-ordinate the most appropriate care, ensuring they are treated with dignity and that their wishes are met.

The two-year project – set up and funded by Marie Curie in partnership with Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Edmonton hospital – comes as recent research reveals almost one in three people currently die without the end of life care they need.

Dr Antke Hagena, Marie Curie Consultant and Department Lead for Palliative Care at NMUH NHS Trust, began working out of the ED in December 2024. The service saw 280 patients in the first six months, and for 73% of these patients this was their first contact with palliative care. To build on the success of this early work, a new team of two Marie Curie Nurses and two Healthcare Assistants were recently positioned in the ED – meaning even more patients will have access to end of life care and support.

Dr Hagena said: “Many people nearing the end of life have to rely on ambulance and emergency services during periods of crisis, as most are not known to palliative care services. Sadly, this often leads to delays in receiving the best care which can be deeply distressing for the individual, their loved ones, and the staff who care for them.

“Over the past year and a half, we’ve already seen the huge difference integrated palliative care expertise can make to the experiences of ED [emergency department] patients at end of life, and their families. The feedback we’ve received has been incredibly positive and I’m looking forward to expanding the service with the support of additional Marie Curie colleagues to make even more of an impact.”

Further Marie Curie research has emphasised the demand for palliative care support in hospitals, as one-in-eight people who died in England and Wales in 2023 spent more than 30 days in hospital during their last three months of life, and almost half visited the ED once or more.

Once the induction phase of the North Mid partnership complete, Marie Curie nurses and healthcare assistants will work with hospital teams to provide “timely, high-quality palliative care” through early identification of people in the last year of life or at the end of life; “holistic, person-centred” palliative care assessments; symptom management and practical support; emotional support and information offered to patients and families, including discharge support and financial advice; and support with advance care planning and co-ordinated transfers to patients’ preferred place of care.

Gem Davies, head of nursing and quality at Marie Curie, is helping to lead the nursing team. She said: “What people at end of life need most is planned and compassionate support. Having palliative care experts embedded in [North Mid’s emergency department] means these patients can be identified faster and provided with the right care plan for them. In turn, this will also help reduce unnecessary hospital admissions in the last months of patient’s lives. It’s a hugely innovative service and I’m proud to be part of it.”

Vicky Jones, North Mid’s medical director, added: “This is a hugely important project, which will make a real difference to people in our emergency department who are near the end of their life. Our teams will work closely with the Marie Curie team to ensure that patients and their families can receive compassionate care and support in a setting that is right for them.”

To find out more about Marie Curie:
Visit mariecurie.org.uk

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