A collaborative project between MGS Medical Practice and Compton Care has recently achieved ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘GP Practice of the Year’ category in the Daffodil Standards Awards.

The awards were launched by Marie Curie and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in 2023, to identify and recognise the best end of life care practice by GPs and practice teams.

Open to all GP practices in the UK, this accolade was received in recognition of MGS and Compton’s hard work and collaboration in embedding the Daffodil Standards at the practice. Developed by Marie Curie and RCGP, the set of patient focused voluntary standards help practices assess and improve the end of life care they provide to their local communities.

Launched in 2019, the Daffodil Standards are a set of eight quality improvement statements designed to support primary care teams in delivering care to patients living with an advanced, serious illness, or at the end of their lives, and their loved ones. The core areas cover professional and competent staff; early identification; carer support – before and after death; seamless, planned, coordinated care; assessment of unique needs of the patient; quality care during the last days of life; care after death and General Practice being hubs within Compassionate Communities. This cross-community initiative promotes quality improvements in general practice with a practical, patient-focused approach that will ensure improved care for patients requiring end of life support.

Dr Dav Bagary, Clinical Lead from MGS Medical Practice, said: “By adopting a collaborative approach to care delivery and working with specialist palliative and end of life care provider Compton Care, we have improved care for patients, families, carers and staff. We’ve done this by developing the skills of our staff in this important area while improving current working practices, including coordinating care across all sectors of health and social care. We have also made sure personalised care planning is available to every patient, and we enhanced support around having difficult conversations and providing tailored support to loved ones after death. To receive recognition on a national level for this work is testament to the dedication of all staff involved to improving care for our patients and their loved ones.”

Rachel Overfield, CEO at Compton Care, added: “Compton Care has welcomed the opportunity to work in this collaborative way with a General Practice partner. This project has proven that joint working improves the patient journey in many ways.

“Sadly, there are still far too many people being cared for and dying in a hospital setting when this is not what they want. This collaboration has demonstrated that some highly complex patients can still receive expert care in a community setting when the correct team is around them. Being able to work with the Primary Care Team and enhance their skills in this vitally important area has delivered many benefits to patients, their families and the workforce. We hope that this model of best practice and is adopted wider across the region to improve the quality of care for everyone with a palliative diagnosis. Congratulations to all at MGS Medical Practice for their hard work in improving end of life care and bereavement support for their patients and their loved ones.”

The project, which started on 1 July 2023 and ran until 31 March 2024, involved a Compton Community Nurse Specialist (CNS) and Paramedic Practitioner (PP) being based in the GP practice. Alongside practice staff they were able to use technology to identify patients that required palliative and end of life care, and therefore received the specialist care they needed.

Through working collaboratively and continuous promotion of the importance of and best practice in advance care planning for people identified as being at the end of life, the number of patients achieving their preferred place of care and death increased by 30%. And the number of patients discussing and documenting their wishes increased by 72%. Also, importantly, the number of carers identified rose, ensuring that they can now access appropriate support in their caring journey for both their loved one and themselves.

The specialist input from Compton Care on the ground in the practice ensured a focus on reflection and learning from after-death audits and adopting and spreading any learning across all practice staff. Care coordination improved across a range of sectors including hospice care, hospital care, local authority services, ambulance services and other community providers.

Dr Dav Bagary concluded: “By adopting a greater collaborative approach to the delivery of palliative and end of life care within our practice, we have seen many improvements to patient/carer care and in the skills and abilities of our workforce to manage these complex patients. We’ve seen that even small changes can make an enormous difference.

“For our workforce, confidence levels in initiating discussions about wishes and preferences have improved, which in turn empowers patients and carers to take control of their care, instilling confidence in the staff caring for them knowing that their wishes are documented and adhered to. Our practice staff have fully embraced this new way of working and continue to improve end-of-life care provision to our patients. In turn, Compton Care has been able to have ongoing discussions with patients and family ensuring continuity of care and reassuring our patients and their loved ones that expert support is there for them when they need it.”