A project helping people die or be cared for at home has been highlighted for helping prioritise care at West Suffolk Hospital by reducing unnecessary hospital admissions.

The West Suffolk Care Home Model, commissioned by the NHS West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group, gives better support to care home residents and their families by talking to them about planning for an emergency and future care wishes.

St Nicholas Hospice Care is one of the key players in the project, along with West Suffolk Hospital, GP practices, Care UK, ambulances, care homes and the clinical commissioning group.

“Most people want to be cared for or die at home or in familiar surroundings,” said Pippa Wilding, head of education and outreach at St Nicholas Hospice Care.

“To enable that to happen we have been working with and training care home staff to ensure they have the skills and confidence to support residents to be cared for in their usual place of residence.”

According to the clinical commissioning group there are 47 homes with 1,900 beds in west Suffolk.

The project has proved so successful it won an award at the NHS leadership recognition awards earlier this month, winning the outstanding collaborative leadership for health and social care award. The project involves creating personalised care and support plans, meaning everyone involved in caring for an individual knows what to do in an emergency. West Suffolk Hospital said this allowed them to provide care to those who needed it most.

Jon Green, chief operating officer at West Suffolk Hospital, said: “This initiative is a good example of NHS working together to improve services for patients, and has also had an impact on reducing unnecessary admissions, in turn ensuring we can prioritise care for those in the greatest clinical need.”