Background Pre-pandemic the hospice ran a popular activity-orientated out-patient programme, but it had lost both traction and patient numbers, and lacked a multi-disciplinary approach. With the hospice caseload growing we felt that, whilst the activities were popular, they were catered for elsewhere in the community. And so, rather than duplicating services we sought to create a drop-in service, something which is not typically offered at other hospices, where our unique expertise is utilised under the one umbrella, providing our patients and their loved ones with specialist palliative care without the need to book.

Aim Research evidence indicates that integrated, co-ordinated care, and multi-disciplinary working is particularly valuable for people with complex needs and long term-conditions (SCIE, 2018), therefore, by coordinating health and social care and the expertise and skills of different professionals we aimed to provide holistic, person-centred care in a way that is more accessible to our patients and carers.

Method The Hospice Hub operates a flexible drop-in service, where no appointment is necessary. Here, patients and carers can socialise, speak to members of the Hub, and attend supportive sessions, including relaxation, reflexology, fatigue and breathe easy groups. We also offer separate facilitated carer support throughout the session. The space used for the Hub is a light, airy and cheerful space, where every week our hospice colleagues and volunteers are on hand, including our dedicated Hub Co-ordinator, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Healthcare Assistant, Complementary Therapist, Welfare Advisor, Spiritual Carer, Social Worker, and Occupational Therapist.

Results Since launching the Monday Hub drop-in the numbers have doubled. Due to this demand the decision was made to repeat the Hub on a Thursday which has been equally successful, and the feedback has been positive.

Conclusion Multidisciplinary teams have been shown to be an effective tool to facilitate collaboration between professionals and improve care outcomes (SCIE. SCIE Highlights No 4. 2018).