Patients in Liverpool are benefitting from an innovative and ground-breaking new Academic Palliative Care Unit at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, which officially opened yesterday.
The 12-bedded Unit aims to provide world-leading clinical and compassionate specialist care for patients with the most complex, high-dependency palliative and end of life care needs, and their families.
Research focus
The Unit is also a centre for world-leading research and service innovation, delivered in partnership with the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool at the University of Liverpool.
This means that patients benefit from the latest, research based, innovative and compassionate care whilst also having the opportunity to take part in research that improves care for the future, leaving a legacy for the benefit of future patients as innovations and learning are shared in the UK and globally.
Professor John Ellershaw, Professor of Palliative Medicine and Director of the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute, said: “We only get one chance to get care right for people towards the end of their lives and this unit is a major new milestone in us doing so.
“Patients benefit from the very best in palliative and end of life care, with their complex needs being met in one place when it is most needed and with a shorter in patient stay.
Innovation and compassionate care
Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Care Quality Commission, said: “The work here in Liverpool is a clear example of where a combination of inspirational leadership, clinical and research expertise commitment and compassion is a catalyst for sustained innovation and improvement that is a testament to the quality of an individual life.
“I look forward to hearing about the continued success of the Academic Palliative Care Unit in Liverpool and seeing its impact on driving forward research based innovative and compassionate care across the health economy and beyond.”