Quite rightly there is much talk about the NHS 10 year plan and the importance of modernising the healthcare system but many organisations, including Supportive Care UK, have long been harnessing technology to deliver improved patient outcomes.

Supportive Care UK first started working with St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston back in 2019, initially providing out of hours consultant support. We then added two remote board rounds and one multi-disciplinary team meeting each week, which allowed our consultants to guide the St Mary’s medical and nursing teams in supporting their patients more confidently. Over time our provision has grown further in order to meet the Hospice's needs and now includes a full suite of remotely delivered services including Clinical Supervision and Palliative Pharmacy support - all underpinned by our collaborative Saas platform which keeps records in one place, is fast, efficient and most importantly, secure for sharing sensitive information.

In simple terms, our collaboration with St Mary’s has allowed the hospice to keep all its beds open, despite the staffing challenges which are endemic in the sector. And on a day-to-day level, it is supporting the delivery of high-quality care in a number of ways, providing St Mary’s with more consultant cover than they could have obtained from their local system, or afforded independently. It has allowed the medical team to develop their practice and strengthen their decision making and multi-disciplinary skills - it has also left them with the confidence that challenges can be overcome. The St Mary’s team believe that the process has highlighted the value of innovation and leveraging technology, and provided a robust remote model which could transform the future of palliative and supportive care in rural areas.

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