Palliative and end of life care services receive significant investment in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

More people in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will be able to receive specialist palliative and end of life care in the place they call home, thanks to nearly £5 million of investment over the next two years through the Better Care Fund (BCF) and Integrated Care Board’s (ICB) investment. The funding will support the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Neighbourhood Health and Care programme, helping people access more personalised care closer to home.

Neighbourhood Health puts people at the centre of their care, bringing health and care services together around an individual’s needs. The Better Care Fund supports this approach by bringing together NHS and local authority funding to help people remain independent for longer, improve their experience of care and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

The investment will support two major developments in palliative and end of life care services across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent: a new Palliative Crisis Avoidance, Response and Management (PCARM) Service and enhanced specialist palliative care support at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM).

Phil Smith, Chief Officer System Development and Integration, NHS Shropshire, Wrekin and Telford ICB and NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, said:

“We know that when people are approaching the end of life, what matters most is receiving compassionate, personalised care in the place that feels right for them and their loved ones.

This significant investment will help us strengthen palliative and end of life care across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, ensuring more people can access specialist support earlier, receive care closer to home and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions wherever possible.

Working closely with our hospice partners, local NHS organisations and councils, we are creating a more joined-up approach to care that will improve patients’ experiences and provide greater support for families and carers at some of the most important moments in their lives.”

New Palliative Crisis Avoidance, Response and Management Service

The new PCARM service will be delivered in partnership with Compton Care, Douglas Macmillan Hospice, Katharine House Hospice and St Giles Hospice. It has been developed in response to local feedback and the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent All-Age Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy 2025–2028, which identified the need to improve access to coordinated support and help more people receive care in their preferred place.

Many patients and families have told health and care organisations that they can find palliative care services difficult to navigate, particularly during periods of crisis. Feedback has highlighted challenges including inconsistent coordination between services, delays in recognising palliative care needs, limited access to support out of hours, and people turning to hospital services when other options are not available.

The new service will provide rapid access to specialist palliative care support for people experiencing a deterioration in their condition. By bringing together hospice expertise from across the area, the service aims to help more people remain at home or in their usual place of residence, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and receive timely support when they need it most.

The service will also help people leave hospital sooner when appropriate, with specialist teams providing support as they return home or move to another care setting. It is expected to improve patient and family experience through faster symptom management, more proactive care planning and better support for people approaching the end of life.

NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB will invest approximately £1.8 million in the first year of the service, increasing to approximately £2.7 million in the second year as the service expands.

Katharine House Hospice CEO and co-chair of the regional Palliative and End of Life Care Clinical Improvement Group, David Fletcher, said:

 “Over the past few years, we have listened to and heard our patients’ and communities’ wishes regarding what they want and need at one of the most important and distressing times in life.

 “We have worked with partners to generate this proposal which will help reach more people in crisis, quicker, when they need it most, while also saving funds and diverting patients from emergency and critical NHS care.

 “As experts and specialists in palliative and end of life care, our regional hospice collaborative, including Compton, St Giles and Dougie Mac, has already worked together to launch an effective 24/7 palliative care advice line providing immediate support for residents in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.”

The programme also supports local priorities to improve urgent and emergency care, support healthy ageing, improve palliative and end of life care services and provide more care closer to home. 

Enhanced Specialist Palliative Care Support at UHNM

Alongside the PCARM service, UHNM has been working with the ICB, Marie Curie Hospice and Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) to explore ways to strengthen palliative and end of life care pathways and improve support for patients and families.

The enhanced Specialist Palliative Care Team model will help identify patients who may benefit from specialist palliative care earlier in their healthcare journey. This will enable earlier conversations about care preferences, more proactive planning and faster access to specialist advice and support.

The approach is expected to improve patient experience, support more personalised care, help reduce avoidable hospital admissions and lengthy hospital stays, and enable more people to receive care in the setting that best meets their needs and wishes.

Caroline Meredith, UHNM Associate Chief Operating Officer, said:

“We are delighted to see this investment in specialist palliative care services across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. It represents a significant opportunity to strengthen how we work together across organisations, ensuring patients and families can benefit from expert support whenever it is needed.

 “This additional resource will help our teams build capacity, enhance collaboration with community, hospice and hospital colleagues and provide greater continuity of care across different settings.” Together, these developments represent an important step towards providing more compassionate, coordinated and personalised palliative and end of life care across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, helping people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.