Helpline extended to help seriously ill people

A HELPLINE for seriously ill people who may be in the last year of their lives is being extended to help hundreds of patients in Bradford.

The dedicated ‘Gold Line’ telephone service, which was launched across Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven last November, offers patients and their carers help and advice, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, to support them in their “preferred place of care” wherever it is possible.

Now the Bradford City and Bradford District Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are funding the service from March 3 on a trial basis until March 31, 2015.

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Dr Linda Wilson, palliative care consultant at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to be able to extend this service to patients with a GP in the Bradford area. It is already providing extra support, reassurance and care. Early results are very encouraging and feedback from patients, their carers and professionals working with them has been very positive.”

It is hoped the service will prevent Gold Line patients having to go into hospital by providing support at home. The scheme is not expected to replace patients’ use of their GP and other community health care services during normal working hours but aims to enhance their care when daytime services have closed. Calls are answered by a team of nurses in the Telehealth Hub at Airedale Hospital who are linked to community-based teams, who can visit patients if necessary.

Dr Ian Fenwick, clinical speciality lead for end of life and cancer for the Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven and Bradford CCGs, said: “The Gold Line adds to the range of support available to patients in Bradford who are facing end of life issues.

“It also provides their families and carers with a direct line to expert care and support if they need help out-of-hours.”

Consultants, GPs, district nurses, a local hospice, patients and carers have been working on the project.

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