The Gold Line is a dedicated 24/7 telephone service for people who may be in their last year of life and their families and aims to support them to receive the right care, in the right place at the right time. This example of how local areas are working to implement overall system change forms part of our care and health improvement digital and information resource.
The challenge
To reduce the high number of avoidable hospital admissions for patients approaching the end of their life and support choice around their end of life care through a single point of contact.
The solution
The Gold Line is a dedicated 24/7 telephone service for people who may be in their last year of life and their families and aims to support them to receive the right care, in the right place at the right time. The service, run by Airedale Hospital Digital Care Hub telemed team is available to patients and carers 24 hours a day and shares information through the Bradford Integrated Digital Care Record (IDCR). The insight and knowledge from the different parts of a person’s health and care record allows the telemed nurses to understand a person’s situation, make better assessments and quicker decisions to support them.
The impact
Angela who is a carer for her husband describes the impact that information sharing has had on her life:
“Before the Gold Line we would often end up in hospital. My husband’s breathing issue would require me to call 111 or 999. Depending on who I got, I could be on the phone to eight people spending ten minutes repeating my story, whilst getting more and more scared. We could end up in A&E and that would mean he would be admitted to hospital for monitoring for two or three days.
In just three months the Gold Line has literally changed our lives. I can talk to a nurse when he is unwell and discuss medication options - they have helped me to be more confident in managing his condition and in taking practical steps to improve his situation. Our lives are much calmer now and it’s been a real help knowing that there’s always someone available to reassure or support me.”
How is your approach being sustained
Targeted communication with health and care practitioners is key to sustaining the Gold Line and making sure it is accessible. By raising awareness of the Gold Line with GPs and adult social workers this enables earlier conversations with patients and supports information sharing about those individuals who could benefit.
Lessons learned
“I just wish we had had this service earlier because it has taken the frustration and the fear out of what we have to do. One number, one call and everything is sorted - no chasing for appointments. I cannot praise the staff enough.”
