
New NHS online care plan gives chronically ill patients and those who are dying more control over their emergency care
Patients, professionals and Health Secretary Matt Hancock back launch of myCMC, the patient-facing online urgent care plan that empowers people with long term conditions and those at the end of their lives share their wishes about the care they want to receive
“I want to see improvements across health and care, and more technology like this can help tailor healthcare to individuals and help us fulfil the ambition of the NHS Long Term Plan to move to more person-first care.”
Almost 70,000 CMC plans have been created across London, where it is helping people get the care that they want. For example, almost half of all deaths occur in hospital, when many people do not want to die there. For those with a CMC plan in place, fewer than one in five have died in hospital. It has also helped to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, and saved the NHS millions of pounds.
Professor Julia Riley, the clinical lead for CMC and palliative care consultant in The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust’s Symptom Control and Palliative Care Team, said: “CMC came about after I saw the way in which my sister in law was cared for when she died. She wanted to die at home, but out of hours providers insisted she went to hospital. It would have been better if urgent care providers had known about her wishes in advance. That is why we developed CMC, which has helped thousands share their treatment wishes.”
Cally Palmer, chief executive, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, which hosts the CMC service, said: “CMC has put patient in control of their own care plan and this project has already delivered great value and benefit to the clinical community, patients and carers. With the launch of myCMC, many more patients are now further empowered to make decisions about the care they want to receive and where they want to receive it. This is vital to improve their experience and choice.”
Healthcare professionals also welcome the ability to see what patients want. Stuart Crichton, chief clinical information officer at Ambulance Service said: “Coordinate my Care helps us treat more people where and how they wish – putting them at the centre of their care - and to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. We gain vital information about the patient’s wishes, preferences for care and important decisions they have made.
“myCMC will allow people to start their own care plan and make decisions themselves. It will join up aspects of the healthcare system to put patients’ needs and wishes even more at the forefront - helping us further improve our care.”
CMC is currently available across London, and is funded by the capital’s 32 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Over the next few years, it has ambitions to expand the service nationally.