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Documentary celebrates nurse-led end of life service

The Health Foundation highlights 24/7 phone support project in series of short films on innovative care

A 24/7 nurse-led phone service for people nearing the end of life is one of five innovative projects being celebrated in a series of documentary films.

The Health Foundation, a charity that campaigns to improve healthcare delivery, is releasing one short film a week until the end of November as part of its Power of People campaign.

One of the films, to be released on November 27, highlights the work of nurses running the round-the-clock Gold Line phone service for people in Airedale, Wharfedale, Craven and Bradford in Yorkshire who are nearing the end of their lives. The nurses co-ordinate care and support for the patients, who can contact them via video link.

Fran Duxbury, a telemedicine nurse who helps run the service, said: ‘Our number is given to patients, carers and relatives. When a patient calls it means they don’t have to wait or go to A&E, or get their doctor out on an emergency call.’

The first film, Pills: Reviewing Medication in Care Homes, describes a project in Northumbria to involve patients more in decisions about their medication, alongside a pharmacist and a GP. Another in the series, Flo: Telecare with a Human Touch, focuses on a telehealth system that texts people with diabetes to remind them to monitor their blood sugar levels.

To see the first film, go to The Health Foundation website.