The development of a 7-day community specialist palliative care service

The author worked as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in community palliative care in the Central Lancashire area of England when the CNS service was extended to a 9am-to-5pm 7-day service. A project group was set up to canvas some of the key stakeholders for their views on the extension of the service. The group undertook a literature search, a telephone survey of services in other areas that were providing this level of service, and interviews to ascertain the views of district nurses in the locality of the proposed service extension. The extension of service has long been advocated and was one of the key recommendations in the UK Department of Health's peer-review process. Such an extension was implemented following the research phase and was then evaluated by the project lead and the community services manager. The extension was found to be effective in the ongoing monitoring and support of patients. Anecdotally, the CNS team also felt it had been proactive in preventing unnecessary hospital admissions, although this specific aspect is difficult to quantify. This article looks at how the service was developed, how it has evolved over time, and how it works today. Consideration is also given to benefits and limitations.