Two wards at our hospitals have been recognised for providing great care and support to patients nearing the end of their lives, and their families.

Fern ward, at King George Hospital, and Sunrise A ward, at Queen’s Hospital, have each been accredited with the Gold Standards Framework (GSF). The framework is there to ensure earlier recognition of patients with life-limiting illnesses, helping them to plan ahead, such as deciding where they want to be looked after.

Kanza Batool, a senior house officer on Fern ward, initially struggled with the concept of having difficult conversations about death and dying with patients and their families.

She said: “As a junior doctor, I was really scared at first about discussing the end of their lives with our patients. However, working with our End of Life care team helped me realise why this was so important and gave me more confidence.

“It’s really beneficial as it helps me to build a better relationship with my patients and their families.”

Heather Wright, our Palliative Care team leader, added: “I’m really proud of both our teams for achieving this. It’s been a lot of hard work, especially when they have a lot of competing priorities.

“The most important thing about identifying patients who are nearing the end of their lives is that it gives them more choice and control over their own care.”

GSF also ensures more joined up care between the hospital and primary care in the community, as well as care homes.

Wards must apply for reaccreditation after three years. We have one other ward which is also GSF accredited, Sunrise B ward, at Queen’s Hospital, which was reaccredited in March this year.

Pictured top are staff on Sunrise A ward, and above on Fern ward.