The London Ambulance Service’s ‘Macmillan End of Life Care Team’ has been honoured at this year’s Macmillan Professional Excellence Awards, which took place on Tuesday 2nd November in Manchester.
The Macmillan End of Life Care Team provides London Ambulance staff with specialist training to ensure that patients nearing the end of their lives get the care that meets their needs, while also respecting their wishes.
The team has been awarded the ‘Whatever It Takes Award’, recognising their innovative and inspirational work supporting people with life limiting conditions in the capital, as well as colleagues struggling with the impact of the pandemic.
The annual awards recognise the incredible work of Macmillan professionals and teams up and down the country.
Georgina Murphy-Jones, Macmillan Paramedic Lead for the project explained:
“For patients nearing the end of their life, having their wishes carried out is so important. So we’re really proud to see the extraordinary efforts of London Ambulance Service staff, working tirelessly to fulfil these wishes and ensure that care can be provided in the patient’s place of choice, where safe to do so, while also supporting patients’ loved ones too.
“Macmillan has enabled us to equip our crews with the vital guidance and emotional support they need when responding to these crisis calls.”
The impact of the work carried out by the team has been huge, for patients and paramedics alike.
Macmillan Paramedic Lead Karina Catley added: “It’s been so positive. Colleagues say that the training gave them the confidence to make the necessary decisions. They find it extremely rewarding to be able to fulfil people’s wishes. We’ve also received thank you letters from carers of patients who’ve been able to die peacefully at home.”
Macmillan Nurse Consultant Diane Laverty: “As a team, we had to support and empower clinicians on the frontline of COVID. It was hard for them – they were seeing many more patients experiencing end of life symptoms.”
