Sheffield Palliative Care Team Wins Prestigious National Award for Excellence
A specialist team at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been honoured with a top national award for the outstanding quality of their palliative care services. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh presented the group with the Dundas Medal, recognising their exemplary service to the community and their significant contributions to improving hospital palliative care for patients across the region.
Innovative Services and Holistic Care
The specialist palliative care service operates seven days a week, providing comprehensive in-person nursing and medical face-to-face reviews, rapid access outpatient clinics, and an 18-bed specialist palliative care unit. The team is at the forefront of innovation in palliative care, particularly through specialised services for challenging medical conditions.
One notable innovation is their service for hard-to-treat cancers of unknown primary origin, where the cancer has spread but the original site is unidentified. For these patients, timely and collaborative decision-making between patients and healthcare workers is crucial to determine the best course of action.
Another key development is the cancer pain service, created in partnership with the Trust’s pain management service. This initiative accepts referrals from across the region for patients with the most difficult-to-manage pain, ensuring they receive holistic multi-disciplinary team reviews, targeted pain interventions, and palliative care advice with follow-up support.
Excellence in Research, Education, and Compassionate Initiatives
In addition to enhancing palliative and end-of-life care, the team was praised for their excellence in research and education. They deliver extensive training for medical students and offer regular structured shadowing and role modelling opportunities for doctors and nurses at all levels, providing valuable insights into palliative care practices.
Furthermore, a clinical nurse specialist from the team secured a grant from Weston Park Cancer Charity to launch an innovative bereavement bag project. These bags, designed to resemble gift bags, are used to return a deceased family member’s belongings, offering a more respectful and dignified alternative to generic white hospital bags.
Recognition and Impact
James Davies, palliative medicine consultant and clinical lead for palliative medicine at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, expressed pride in the team’s achievements. He stated, “Providing respect, dignity, and comfort to hospital patients in the palliative phase of their illness is an incredible privilege. We are extremely proud of our service and what we have achieved. In winning this award, we hope to raise awareness of the importance of NHS hospital specialist palliative care services, and the profound impact this can have on relieving physical, psychosocial and spiritual suffering as patients and those important to them navigate their necessary acute hospital treatments.”
The award highlights the team’s dedication to improving patient care through innovation, education, and compassionate initiatives, setting a high standard for palliative care services nationwide.
