Dorset Care Record expands to two adult hospices in region

Both Lewis-Manning Hospice Care at Poole and Weldmar Hospicecare, Dorchester, have joined the Dorset Care Record, a move that will ensure their staff can receive the most up-to-date information on the patients they’re caring for.

Staff at the adult hospices will now gain read-only access to the Dorset Care Record, giving them a comprehensive understanding of their patients’ medications.

In addition, they can provide end-of-life care information, helping other Dorset Care Record partners.

Hayley Bonner, director of clinical services at Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, said: “The opportunity to be part of this partnership will expand our current patient experience and continues our commitment to put patients, carers and their loved ones at the heart of everything we do.”

The hospices in Dorset take patient referrals from a number of sources, including hospitals, GPs and community healthcare professionals.

Many patients have been moved around the health and social care system prior to hospice care. As a result it can be challenging for hospices to piece together all the patient information from multiple health and care organisations.

Caroline Sweetland, director of clinical services at Weldmar Hospicecare, said: “We sometimes hear from patients and their families that they have to repeat their story to a number of different professionals involved in their care.

“Sharing information on the Dorset Care Record is brilliant and will really help with the coordination of care for patients and families. This is a great step forward.”

The Dorset Care Record is a confidential computer record that is helping to join up different systems in the region to ensure all health and care staff have access to comprehensive, up-to-date records about their patients.

The extension of the record to the two hospices means more than 5,700 trained staff are using the record, which has been accessed over 1.5 million times by healthcare staff.