End-of-life Swan scheme launches at RJAH
A national initiative to help improve end-of-life care for patients and their families has been implemented and embedded across Shropshire’s specialist orthopaedic hospital.
The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital has formally pledged its support to the Swan Model of Care scheme – a national initiative which aims to support patients in their final days of life and their families into bereavement and beyond by providing individualised, but consistent care.
Pip Page-Davies, Macmillan Oncology Nurse Specialist, has been leading on the roll-out across the Oswestry-based hospital.
She said: “Provision of excellent palliative and end-of-life care is crucial - whilst the number of deaths in the Trust may be low, the delivery of excellent care is very important to us. We have just one chance to get it right for each patient at the appropriate time. The Swan Model of Care will be valuable to all staff helping to provide individualised end-of-life care to patients.
“The model aims to give support patients as they approach the end of their lives, by ensuring a personalised approach so they are comfortable. It also allows the nursing teams to do things differently in these circumstances.”
To support the adoption of the scheme, the Trust has created dedicated Swan boxes for each ward. These boxes contain resources for staff such as care plans, as well as documents for patients and their loved ones including information leaflets.
Volunteers with the League of Friends have also knitted hearts for staff to give to loved ones.
Pip added: “I’d like to say thank you to the League of Friends for their support, as well as our Medical Illustration Team who have gone above and beyond to support with this roll-out.”
Paul Kavanagh-Fields, Chief Nurse and Patient Safety Officer, said: “I am so proud that we have adopted the Swan Model of Care across the organisation.
“Embedding Swan across the organisation is not only going to make a crucial difference to our patients and their families, but it will also ensure that our staff are supported to deliver a high standard of care to patients and their families at an extremely difficult time. “I’d like to say thank you to Pip for all her hard work over the past few months in leading on this work – she has done a fantastic job.”
