Hospice launches 24/7 end-of-life support line

A hospice is launching a new 24/7 service to help people access end-of-life and palliative care in their homes, with the aim of reducing hospital admissions.

The Specialist Palliative Urgent Response (Spur) service at Birmingham Hospice goes live on Monday, taking calls from patients, families and healthcare professionals.

It promises to offer advice, signpost callers to relevant services, or see a home visit arranged within two hours.

The hospice, which supports people in Birmingham and Solihull, said it would help respond to long-standing gaps in out-of-hours palliative care provision, and take pressure off emergency departments.

Twenty eight new jobs have been created to operate the service, which will be delivered by Birmingham Hospice, in partnership with the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board.

Funding for Spur has come from the Macmillan Cancer Support end-of-life fund.

The hospice also has an existing specialist community palliative care service, which operates from 08:00 to 20:00 GMT, and it is hoped Spur will complement this.

"This service will help patients remain in their preferred place of care and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions by providing wraparound support," said Paul Bytheway, chief executive at Birmingham Hospice.

"It will reduce the exhaustion and anxiety we know can occur when patients, loved ones and carers don't know where to turn."

To access the service from 08:00 to 22:00, contact 0121 809 1900. From 22:00 to 08:00, the dedicated hotline number is 0300 555 1919.

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.