Trinity’s innovative service aimed at improving end of life care for people living at home in Wandsworth has won an award at this year’s National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) award ceremony. The Wandsworth End of Life Care Coordination Centre received the Effective Coordination of Care Award at the House of Lords yesterday, for effective person-centred coordination of care.

The Wandsworth Care Coordination Centre, based at Royal Trinity Hospice and commissioned and funded by NHS Wandsworth Clinical Commissioning Group, is run in partnership with Marie Curie and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Strong relationships between the commissioner and provider were highlighted by the NCPC as key to the success of the Centre.

To date, over 800 patients and families have been supported by the service. An independent external evaluation found that the centre has resulted in an improvement in the quality of care provided to people approaching the end of their life, through faster discharges from hospital, patients and families feeling more reassured, and patients feeling more supported to remain at home.

Cathy Maylin, Head of the Wandsworth Care Coordination Centre says, “We are thrilled and delighted to have been awarded this accolade by the National Council for Palliative Care. The award is testament to the fantastic and hardworking team here. It was a privilege to attend the NCPC 25^th Anniversary Reception at the House of Lords yesterday but it is back to business as usual today and all about keeping up the good work!”

Dr Nicola Jones, Clinical Chair, NHS Wandsworth CCG, said, “The development of this service has required creativity, commitment, flexibility and a belief that a truly coordinated service within the community would achieve the best care for our patients, their families and carers. This initiative demonstrates that by bringing the wider system together we can make a difference to people who need care at the end of life.”

Now in their second year, the NCPC Awards are the only health and social sector care awards that are dedicated to recognising exceptional people and services that have made a real difference through outstanding care, support and commitment to end of life care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland during 2016.