The Palliative Care in Partnership (PCIP) service is a Cheshire-wide collaboration which provides home (domiciliary) care to people in Cheshire who have palliative care needs and who are receiving end of life care. The service supports patients and those important to them in their own home, to ensure that patients care needs are met to maximise quality of life during their final weeks.

The partnership approach across Cheshire ensures that patients and those important to them have access to a consistent quality of service to support their needs during this palliative stage.

Our Partners

The organisations working together to provide this care will be based across 3 hubs:

  • Central Cheshire PCIP Hub - Central Cheshire Integrated Care Partnership – for residents of South Cheshire and Vale Royal
  • West Cheshire PCIP Hub - Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – for residents of Cheshire West
  • East Cheshire PCIP Hub - East Cheshire Hospice – for residents of Cheshire East
  • End of Life Partnership – Support the training and education of staff who support the delivery of care, and partnership working with local hospices to support pre and post bereavement for the individual and those important to them

Referrals

Referrals into this service will be from various health and care professionals including:

  • Hospital discharge teams
  • GPs
  • Hospices
  • Community Health teams

Patients are eligible for referral into the service if they meet all of the following criteria:

  • They are at a terminal phase of palliative care with a prognosis of 12 weeks or less
  • The patients preferred place of care is their usual place of residence
  • The patient is registered with a GP within the NHS Cheshire CCG* footprint

Patients may choose to be cared for at home, but to be transferred to a hospice or other facility as their preferred place of death. The PCIP service will support the transfer of care to their preferred place of death when the time is right for them. We also understand that patients may change their mind at any point about where they prefer to be cared for and/or die. The service will support patients and those important to them in facilitating these changes as they arise.

*CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group)

What can you expect from the service?

A healthcare practitioner will attend the patient’s home following referral for care. The frequency of visits, number of practitioners in attendance and care provided will depend on individual needs and preferences. We understand that each patient and their journey is different, so all care will be personalised . Practitioners will follow a clear care plan which will be put in place at the time of referral in consultation with the patient and those important to them.

The care plan will detail all care needs the patient will be supported with, including personal care (such as bathing, dressing, going to the toilet) as well as providing continence care, pressure area care, mouth care, support with eating and drinking and support patient’s with their medication.

Healthcare practitioners will have access to support and clinical advice from clinical professionals at all times.

Due to the home care nature of the service, the PCIP support will be carried out within patients own homes or their usual place of residence. Care visits will be provided between the hours of 8am and 10pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The service is also able to offer a level of night care provision based on patient need. This will be discussed with the healthcare professional at the time of referral, although the level of service provided can be flexed to suit the change in individual circumstances during their palliative care.

Family members and loved ones can also access bereavement support during and after the patients time with the service, the end of life journey can be hard for all involved therefore support will be offered throughout..

PCIP is a new service across Cheshire commencing in early 2022. In the unlikely event that the PCIP service cannot accommodate the referral, it will be forwarded to the Continuing Healthcare End of Life service following the existing Fast Track service which is in place and supported these patients prior to the PCIP Service being established.