Charity support helps hospice care for more end-of-life patients

Local patients who chose to die at home have benefitted from an end-of-life nursing service, thanks to a grant jointly given by Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity and NHS Charities Together.

The grant of £213,480 helped fund the Treetops Hospice Roaming Nurse Service for fifteen months, from January 2021 to March this year.

Each evening, the Treetops Roaming Nurse team of a registered nurse and healthcare assistant, respond to calls for assistance from patients referred to their Hospice at Home service and Treetops nurses. The Roaming Service team can visit up to seven more Treetops patients each evening, administering medication, and helping with personal care.

During the 15 months of funding, Treetops Roaming Nurses cared for over 630 patients. There were over 3,300 welfare and support calls made between the nursing team and families during this time.

Jill Mathews, Chief Officer, and Tim Diggle, Operations Director, from Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity visited Treetops along with Ellie Orton Chief Executive, NHS Charities Together. They were presented with a framed Treetops Hospice nurse tunic as a thank you from the Derbyshire charity.

Ellie Orton OBE, said: “We are so proud to have helped fund this invaluable project at Treetops Hospice. The Roaming Nurse Service has enabled hundreds of patients in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to die in their own homes – a personal choice that means a great deal to them and their loved ones. We thank everyone who fundraised and donated to help make this service possible.”

Jill Matthews said: “Receiving the Treetops nurse tunic as a recognition of the grant provided by Derby and Burton Hospitals to fund the Roaming Nurse Service is a wonderful way to say thank you to our generous supporters, kind-hearted volunteers and the Charity team. 

“All of these individuals and organisations have helped provide this very valuable service to local people when they need it most.” 

The Roaming Nurse Service was set up by the local charity as part of their emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help alleviate unprecedented pressures on the NHS at the time. 

Phil Shreeve, Treetops Director Clinical Services, said: “We are very grateful to Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity and NHS Charities Together for this significant grant which helped us continue to provide our vital Roaming Nurse Service.  

“We know that an increasing number of people wish to die in their own home, surrounded by their loved ones. Our Roaming Nurse Service is fundamental to be able to offer patients this choice when they reach the very end of life. 

“Alongside our Hospice at Home Service providing one-to-one nursing care for patients throughout the whole night, the Roaming Nurse Service allows us to care for even more patients living in Derby city and across Southern Derbyshire.

“For example, we have families that don’t need a Treetops nurse for a whole night but might need to call with a one-off request. They can call the Roaming Service who can respond quickly and who have an existing knowledge of the patient and their needs.

“Previously, if a family recognised their loved one was in pain or deteriorating, they would call the 111 out-of-hours service. They would assess the situation and send out a District Nurse, but this could mean a wait as the service is extremely busy. Our Roaming Team may be closer and be able to respond more quickly.”

An initial grant from Barclays Foundation and a car loan from Toyota Manufacturing UK Ltd helped to kickstart the Roaming Nurse Service in 2021.