(NIV Practitioner for West Herts); Maria Buxton
(Lead for CLCH Community Respiratory Team).
West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust along with the Hospice of St Francis, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) has been named regional champion for the ‘Working in Partnership’ category of the NHS Excellence Awards.
The collaboration between partners enabled patients with end-stage interstitial lung disease (ILD) to die peacefully at home through the provision of heated humidified high flow nasal oxygen (HHFNO).
The initiative has the potential to be extended to other hospices and benefit many more people, in other areas.
Previously, profound breathlessness and hypoxia meant patients were often admitted to hospital despite having advance care plans expressing a wish to remain at home.
The cross-organisational ‘Heated Humidified Oxygen Therapy’ team, combining acute respiratory, palliative care, and community respiratory services, supports patients to use the therapy at home indefinitely, with round-the-clock palliative care cover preventing crisis admissions.
Hospital ILD deaths have fallen year on year (56 in 2023, 46 in 2024, 39 in 2025) despite rising referrals, and the model is attracting national and international interest ahead of planned conference presentations and publication.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Sharon Chadwick, Consultant in Palliative Medicine said: “We are absolutely delighted to be named regional champions. This recognition reflects the importance and power of partnership working across hospice, community, and hospital services.
By working together, we’ve been able to honour patients’ wishes, reduce crisis admissions, and support people with advanced ILD to remain peacefully at home when they are dying. It’s a model of care we are incredibly proud of.”
The NHS Excellence Awards, which are linked to the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, recognise outstanding practice across ten award categories.
Champions were selected from over 2,500 entries submitted by NHS organisations across the country.
All regional champions will now progress to the national finals, with winners announced at NHS ConfedExpo in June.