Welcome to the Spring 2025 newsletter from Supportive Care UK.

It's been a busy few months for our team, including recognition at the HSJ awards, and the launch of our new Acute Oncology Support service. We're also gearing up to launch the curriculum for this year's Specialist Education Programme in May – you can find out more about what we're offering here.

In the meantime, here are some of our recent highlights.

Since we were last in touch, we've welcomed two new hospices into the SCUK family.

We're supporting Ashgate Hospice in Derbyshire with OOH care for one week in every six, to help them fill a gap in their rota. And we're providing Southern Area Hospice Services in Northern Ireland with a day of telephone support and a board round each week, to make sure they're always fully covered.

In both cases, we've worked closely with the in-house teams to create a flexible package of support that matches their specific challenges. If you know of any hospices, hospitals or community teams that might benefit from our tailored approach, please do encourage them to contact us.

We've been partnering with ellenor Hospice for more than five years, and as their Director of Care Linda Coffey has told us, our input "has played a key part in the development of the skills, knowledge and team working of our medical team and other clinical staff."

So we're delighted that they have chosen to deepen our partnership by signing up for our Remote Pharmacy service. This sees our specialist palliative pharmacists working closely with ellenor MDTs, carrying out medication checks, and offering advice and training on the best medication for each specific case.

ellenor have found that this model not only gives them access to specialist palliative care pharmacists, allowing them to better support patients with complex needs, but also offers significant cost savings. If you are interested in exploring how this could work within your organisation, please do get in touch.

As the number of people with cancer continues to rise, more and more patients are being admitted to general hospitals with cancer-related emergencies. But without an acute on-site oncologist, it can be hard for A&E teams to feel confident that they're providing the best care. We’ve designed a remote, consultant-led service to help fill that gap.

It's a flexible model which allows hospitals to refer type 1-3 patients via a video consultation (up to five per session), and get the advice they need to make confident decisions. All backed up, as always, by our quality-assurance governance process.

If you'd like to explore whether it would be suitable for your hospital, please sign up for our free webinar, which is taking place on Monday 12 May.

In March, we were guests at the 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards, which celebrate strong supplier relationships with the NHS. And we were delighted to receive Highly Commended in the Staffing Solution of the Year category.

We know from the NHS trusts and other organisations we work with that our flexible model for remote consultant care is having a hugely positive impact, and it was brilliant to receive this national-level recognition in front of our peers.

Also in March, we travelled to Belfast for the 2025 Palliative Care Congress. It was an excellent opportunity for palliative care professionals to come together to discuss the latest developments in the sector, and share ideas and experiences with fellow doctors and clinicians.

Our CEO Charlotte Healey and Medical Director Professor Matt Makin represented us at the event; they really enjoyed meeting up with palliative care professionals from across the UK, and getting their feedback on the services we're providing.

We've got a few changes coming up within the SCUK team, so we thought this would be a good time to let you know who will be looking after you in the months ahead.

Our Operations Manager Lauren Brown will be going on maternity leave in the middle of April, and our Practice Manager Pam Mottershead will be retiring in July. Their responsibilities will be shared between two operations managers, Natalie Jones, who joined us back in October, and new recruit Suzanne Smith, who was appointed in March. They're really looking forward to getting stuck in, and building on everything their colleagues have done to date.

"I have been incredibly fortunate to have Lauren as a mentor, and I’m excited to uphold the high standards she has set while she’s on maternity leave. I am especially looking forward to continuing to develop the Specialist Education Programme alongside our fantastic consultants, and supporting new initiatives at Supportive Care UK."
Natalie Jones

"Since joining SCUK, I have been learning the financial side of Pam's role, and working with her to further develop some of the payment processes. I will also be helping compile our annual reports for our partners, which highlight the positive relationships we develop and the wonderful outcomes SCUK consultants deliver for our partners and their teams."
Suzanne Smith

We'd like to thank Pam and Lauren for the hard work and dedication they have given to us and our partners. They will both be hugely missed, and we wish them well with their next adventures.