A HOSPITAL ward which cares for people living with dementia has scooped a prestigious accolade for its delivery of end of life care.

Tower Ward, based in Clacton Hospital's Landermere Centre, has been awarded a national Gold Standards Framework Quality Hallmark Awards.

The honour will be given as part of the Gold Standards Framework Virtual Awards, which recognise those delivering quality care in the final year of a person’s life.

Tower Ward, which is run by the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, is one of 59 health and social care providers which will be celebrated during the nationwide event.

The specialist facility has been recognised after taking part in the GSF training, which included working to support local system partners to improve end of life care.

The training has been a huge success and has supported both families and patients to discuss end of life care planning and what matters to them at the end of life.

The St Helena Hospice in Colchester also supported Tower Ward to embed a gold standard of care for people nearing end of life.

Annette Knott, manager of Tower Ward, said: “It’s a real honour for Tower Ward to be recognised in this way.

“We were awaiting GSF accreditation when pandemic hit which has obviously been an incredibly difficult time for everyone in the NHS.

“The challenges faced didn’t stop us striving for the best possible care delivery. So to be assessed during the pandemic and recognised is even more rewarding.”

Julie Armstrong-Wilson, lead nurse for GSF, has now praised the award winners for their efforts and the standard of quality they have adopted.

She added: “Congratulations to all organisations that have successfully achieved accreditation and reaccreditation.

“The last year has been an incredibly difficult time for health and social care providers - taking the time to complete their GSF accreditation is to be commended.

“Good quality end of life care has never been more important, especially due to the impact of the pandemic we have all faced.

“Witnessing so many centres signing up to learn more and gain GSF accreditation so they too can support people at the end of life is fantastic to see.”