Palliative Care Research Partnership North West Coast (PalCaRe NWC)
What is PalCaRe NWC?
A new clinical and research partnership has been formed to support and encourage palliative care research in the North West Coast area of England. This was initially funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is currently supported by the CRN NWC. It was set up as a partnership between Lancaster University, University of Liverpool, University of Chester, UCLan, Edge Hill University, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust and the Clinical Research Network North West Coast. We are also supported by the ARC NWC, local hospices, and other clinical partners.
You can follow us on twitter @PalCaReNWC
We are adding information and resources here, so do check back frequently or contact us via Catherine Walshe (c.walshe@lancaster.ac.uk) or Lesley Dunleavy (l.dunleavy@lancaster.ac.uk) with any queries or questions.
We want to support all those who want to be involved in palliative care research across Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria to have relevant information, support and research partnership opportunities.
Why focus on palliative care research across North West Coast?
The North West Coast region of England has high palliative care need (third highest prevalence in England) and historically low recorded NIHR research activity (second lowest research recruitment rate in England). People with palliative care needs, and their family carers, deserve care that is informed by the highest quality evidence, enabled by research active and informed health and social care professionals, within research imbued organisations and services: it is known that care within research active organisations is superior. There is a clear need for more palliative and end-of-life care research integrated across this region.
There is a high incidence of life-limiting disease within the region, compounded by high levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Regionally, this is characterised by clusters of multidimensional disadvantage, including populations known to be underserved, such as areas with ageing or ethnic minority populations, and the deprivation associated with coastal and rural communities. For example, Blackpool, a coastal town in this region, is the most deprived local authority area in England, and has the lowest life expectancy in England.
The number of people who will require palliative care is predicted to increase because of the ageing population, as is the number of people living and dying with chronic and complex conditions. In the majority of North West areas a higher proportion of patients are admitted within the last 90 days of life with a greater than UK average number of patients dying in hospital in the North West. Patients in the North West are known to be referred to specialist palliative care services later than in other regions (35 days vs 55 days in the South of England). Late referrals will also affect the window of opportunity for people to participate in research across the region.