Macmillan nurse facilitators for palliative care: evaluation of a pilot project

to describe and evaluate the implementation of two Macmillan nurse facilitator posts.

a case study design was adopted with data collection in two main phases. A range of data collection techniques were used, including interview, questionnaire and observation. Various sampling strategies were adopted for the different data collection methods. The use of multiple sources of data supported the triangulation of evidence in order to increase the strength and rigour of the analysis.

two Macmillan nurse facilitator posts were set up with the overall aims of enhancing the quality of palliative care to patients in the community by mobilising the existing skills and supporting the development of new competencies by community nurses. The Macmillan nurse facilitators have been active in three areas directly linked to community nurses' clinical practice: educational programmes, establishment of a palliative resource nurse network and support of clinical guidelines in nursing and primary care teams. The model of peer facilitation whereby the Macmillan nurse facilitators continue to work as district nurses for part of the week has been highly valued by community nurses.

the single most important factor identified in facilitating successful implementation of these posts has been the 'dual role' nature of the posts. This has been key to acceptance of the posts by a generic workforce. The posts provide an effective model for supporting and enhancing the palliative clinical skills and knowledge of generic community-based staff.