As part of our commitment to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our patients and their families, we have recently introduced a new service to KSS, Patient and Family Aftercare.
The aim of this service is to ensure the best possible recovery journey for our patients and families by providing ongoing tailored support and coordinating existing support options, as well as continuing to offer the opportunity for patients and families to engage with our crews who were involved in their care. During our 33-year history we have witnessed how important it can be for former patients to connect with the doctors, paramedics, pilots and dispatcher who saved their lives and co-ordinated their care, as well as the incredible wider team of people who make our service possible.
Importantly, this new service has also been introduced to assist our bereaved families. For these people, we know that establishing and maintaining a relationship with KSS can be of support as they grieve.
Stu Plumbley, Patient and Family Aftercare Lead, has been a paramedic for 25 years, working in Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) for over ten years.
Stu said: “Our goal is to create an Aftercare Service that ensures we continue to care for our former patients as part of their journey with KSS. We are committed to developing a bespoke service that meets the specific needs of our patients and families, and so we are currently looking at the best ways of developing that service by talking to partner organisations and reviewing similar services provided elsewhere, as well as consulting with patients and families.“
“The service will develop and evolve in the coming years but our focus initially is to strengthen our existing relationships with major trauma centres, SECAmb and charities we will signpost our patients to, as well as continuing to support patients visits and engagement. Our aim for the future is that we will be able to offer patients and their families holistic, coordinated support which meets their needs and ensures the best possible quality of life.”
Sarita Taneja, Patient and Family Aftercare Manager, has been responsible for managing relationships held with former patients, organising visits and supporting them in whatever ways possible since 2018.
Sarita said: “At the moment a key focus as a team is on facilitating patient and family visits and scoping out how we can best support those impacted by our service both in the initial first few weeks and months of their recovery journeys and on a long-term basis too.”
“There’s so much potential for this team and the service we can develop in terms of how we can improve the outcomes of our patients and families. We are both really excited about what the future holds. It’s a huge privilege to do what we do.”
The new team plan to undertake a consultation with patients and their families in September to better understand their needs, how they can be best supported, what gaps exist in current provision, and the most effective ways of developing the service going forward. Patients are at the heart of all we do, and we are committed to ensuring their views and experiences shape the development of our new exciting service.
If you are a former patient of KSS or the family of a former KSS patient and you would like to find out more about how our Patient and Family Aftercare Service could help you, please contact us citing that you’re keen to speak to the team.
