Outstanding care of end-of-life patients at West Herts hospitals
Posted: 15 August 2022
Photo: Our end of life care team has bespoke wedding
boxes for patients
who get married during their final days.
A national review of end-of-life care services has highlighted outstanding palliative care for patients at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Over 90 per cent of staff feel they work in a culture that prioritises care, compassion, respect and dignity.
The trust scored higher than the national average in almost all areas in the National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL), which compares the quality and outcomes of inpatient care experienced by the dying person and those important to them.
The exceptional results were benchmarked against 171 other healthcare providers. The review took an in depth look at case notes, site inspections, surveys from patients/loved ones and surveys from palliative care staff and found that at West Herts:
- 91 per cent of staff feel they work in a culture that prioritises care, compassion, respect and dignity (compared to a UK average of 80%)
- 9 out of 10 staff feel supported by their specialist palliative care team
- The trust scored 9.9 points out of 10 for involving patients in the decision making of their care (compared to a national average of 9.4).
- Communication with the dying person was also highlighted as an exceptional area for West Herts, scoring 9.3 out of 10 (compared to a national average of 7.9)
Tracey Carter, chief nurse, said: “Our NACEL scores highlight the fantastic work of our palliative care team, and the wards working with them, as well as their continued commitment to our end-of-life patients and their loved ones.
“It is great that the teams have been recognised for providing the very best care during the most difficult of circumstances and especially through the challenges of the pandemic.
“I am immensely proud of our palliative care team and the wider teams they work with for going the extra mile in ensuring that our patients feel respected and cared for at the end of their life. It is also great to see that staff feel supported and looked after. What a fantastic effort from everyone involved.”
- For more information, please contact the communications team on: 01923 436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.net. For out of hours media enquiries please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager.
- West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.
- For more information about our hospitals, visit www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join our followers on Twitter (twitter.com/westhertsNHS) and find us on Facebook (facebook.com/westhertsNHS).
