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On behalf of the Leeds Palliative Care Network, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all partners across Leeds providing palliative and end of life care for the incredible job they have done during the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognise that this has been an extremely challenging time for patients, carers and health and social care teams delivering end of life care; and that it is far from over.
We would like to acknowledge the significant increase in end of life care delivered by partners and the way services have innovated, collaborated and pulled together to maintain existing frontline services and develop new ways of working.
Collectively you have:
- Continued to provide personalised palliative and end life care for patients and their loved ones wherever they are.
- Supported friends and family in safely delivering care at home and supported those who may not have been able see their loved one as much as they wished or mourn them in the way they would have chosen.
- Developed and provided guidance and support for colleagues who were often working in new and demanding ways and supported city-wide strategic working to meet the needs of the people of Leeds.
- Creatively responded to resolve challenges like access to medications and equipment such as syringe drivers.
Thanks to your efforts we have been able to:
- Support patients to die in their preferred place of care and death.
- Enable people to plan ahead using EPaCCS and ReSPECT.
- Rapidly develop clinical guidance and remote training to support frontline clinicians delivering face to face care.
- Enable effective use of medication for the relief of symptoms.
- Develop new ways of working and care pathways.
- Offer essential care after death and bereavement services.
- Disseminate critical information through the LPCN website.
- Provide support to colleagues facing unprecedented challenges across care settings.
Without your hard work and dedication we would not have been able to respond so effectively to the challenges of the pandemic. The LPCN continues to consider and monitor the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on patients’ care preferences and delivery of palliative and end of life care across all care settings.
Thank you all for your ongoing commitment to delivering high quality patient care.
Dr Adam Hurlow, Chair, LPCN
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