Highland Hospice has a proud history of delivering and promoting high quality palliative care for our community, geographically the size of Belgium with a population of just over 220 000.

The sphere of influence of the hospice is far greater than the direct care we provide to patients, families and carers. It is acknowledged that while direct care can (and does) provide the highest quality response for the individual it is resource intensive. Indirect support can however potentially support many more people especially those who live in the more remote areas of our wide geographical area. As a result we are currently piloting a number of innovative and creative responses to deal with these geographic and demographic challenges using digital communication. In this way we are supporting more people to a higher standard at home or in a care home environment, increasing our value to the wider health and social care system and providing better quality care for those in need.

This outreaching of care is being developed in a number of different ways:-

• Using ECHO Highland Hospice Scotland – a collaborative web-based model of education and care management that moves knowledge without moving people.

• HHeLP – Highland Hospice electronically Linking People – an interactive, secure internet portal developed to provide patients receiving palliative care with support and information in their own home.

• Helping Hands – a non-clinical volunteer support/befriending service supporting patients and their families in the last year of life at home

• Collaborative working with care homes in the NHS, Private and Independent sector to improve end-of-life care

• Working with community services currently being redesigned in several rural areas of Highland to support and improve end of life care closer to home.

This poster presentation will report on all these projects in action with updated results at time of publication.