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Welsh Ambulance staff granted dying patients their final wishes, including taking them to concerts or the beach, in a scheme that has run over the past five years. The service has granted a total of 74 wishes throughout Wales, including granting a terminally ill man’s wish to accompany his daughter down the aisle just six days before he died. Wayne Wharton, a 61-year-old father, who had been hospitalised with terminal cancer, was brought to the wedding by volunteer paramedics and his daughter was able to hold his hand as they walked down the aisle. The off-duty paramedics also stayed with him for the day before returning him to the hospital.
The Wish Ambulance project provided ambulance staff with palliative care training, specifically focusing on relieving patient symptoms when a cure was no longer possible. The initiative has allowed patients to be seen within hours in their own homes, rather than requiring them to wait days. The initiative, which is available across Swansea Bay in south Wales and Cardiff, has also led to a reduction of 999 calls, mismanagement of triage, and fewer unnecessary emergency call-outs.
Dr Gwen Davies, clinical director for palliative care at Swansea Bay, said palliative care previously led to very high hospital death rates, with many patients preferring to die at home. The provision of in-house paramedics with specialist training enabled more patients to make choices based on their preference. All decisions were still made in collaboration with palliative care consultants, district nurses and GPs to provide patients with the option to move to a hospital if necessary.
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