Strathcarron Hospice teams up with Meeks Road surgery to benefit palliative care patients

People living with palliative care needs in the community can have less access to GP appointments and home visits, and do not always require the support of district nursing teams. This in turn can cause delays in obtaining relevant prescriptions and starting medication, resulting in increased symptom burden which negatively impacts their quality of life over this period.

The hospice has a clinical nurse specialist in every GP surgery across the regions, supporting up to 400 people every week.

They can provide holistic assessment, expert symptom control advice, anticipatory care planning and emotional, psycho-social support. Their specialist palliative care advice around medication, supports GPs and other health care professionals for patients and families living with a life limiting condition.

Now they are launching a pilot project which will allow the clinical nurse specialist to prescribe medication without a doctor having to sign it off.

Lyndsay Cardwell, Strathcarron Hospice clinical nurse specialist, said, “We’re delighted to be working with Meeks Road Surgery on this pilot to explore how having a Strathcarron clinical nurse specialist as a non-medical prescriber makes to the patients and their families in their practice.

“Strathcarron has a non-medical prescribing policy in place as part of this pilot, but there is of course a cost attached to the hospice to train up our staff. As yet, we do not have a formal agreement with NHS funding, but we hope that other local GP surgeries can enable their Strathcarron clinical nurse specialist to be a prescriber, as it would be a benefit to them, speeding up the vital prescription process for patients.”

The hospice’s clinical nurse specialists visit patients and families in their own homes five days a week and are often a direct link for patients to the wider Strathcarron teams, for example, the consultants, patient and family support, rehab and the live your life teams, as well as the inpatient unit. The team is well established within the wider primary care sector and work closely with district nursing services, GP’s and other allied health professional and speciality teams.

Dr Alastair McCall from Meeks Road Surgery said: “The relationship and trust we have with Strathcarron’s clinical nurse specialist is excellent; the strength is in regular communication, all for the benefit of patients and their families.

"Now that Helen, Strathcarron’s clinical nurse specialist can now prescribe medications, it is improving the delivery of care as medications can be picked up on the same day as their visit, rather than patients and/or family members waiting to see their GP.”

With only 50 per cent cost of Strathcarron’s clinical nurse specialist teams funded by NHS, the local hospice need to raise over £400,000 every year to pay for these special palliative care services across local communities.

Any GP practice in Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, who wants to express interest or learn more about the non-medical prescribing pilot should get in touch with Lyndsay Cardwell, community lead nurse on 01324 826222.