Hello, my name is Dr Alexa Clark and I am a Consultant in Palliative Medicine and Clinical Director for the Newcastle Hospitals’ Palliative and End of Life Care Service.
As a consultant in Palliative Medicine, I am based in the Community Palliative Care Team and work with the palliative care nurse specialists, GPs and community nursing teams to care for palliative patients at home and in Care Homes in Newcastle.
My day to day work consists of visiting patients and their families to assess and manage their symptoms, and also providing specialist advice and support to the community staff who may be reviewing them.
I also provide education to the GPs and work closely with GP leads to improve palliative care in the Newcastle community.
There are six part-time Consultants working in our service across the hospital and community, so I also enjoy working within the hospital palliative care teams to provide cover when needed and work more closely with staff working in Freeman Hospital and the RVI.
Additionally, I currently work on call for Marie Curie Hospice.
I have been the Clinical Director for Palliative and End of Life Care for the Newcastle Hospitals since January 2022.
Working in partnership to deliver truly integrated care
I initially trained as a General Practitioner before commencing my training in Palliative Medicine in 1995 in the North East, working in St Oswald’s and Marie Curie Hospices as well as Newcastle hospitals and the community.
I have worked as a Consultant in Palliative Medicine since 2002, and have spent the majority of my time working with the Community Palliative Care Team. I enjoy working closely with the nursing and medical staff in the community who work so hard in and out of hours to deliver high quality end of life care to patients in their own homes.
I served as Clinical Lead for the North East and North Cumbria Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Network for 4 years from 2017-2021, before stepping down in order to take up the role of Clinical Director for Palliative and End of Life Care for our Trust.
During this time, one of my achievements was to edit the Network Palliative and End of Life Care Symptom Control Guidelines which are widely used by clinicians across the region.
Streamlining pathways through integration and collaboration
I am keen that patients approaching the end of life receive equal high quality care whether they have a cancer or non-cancer diagnosis.
Our Palliative Care Service are keen to work with clinicians in medical and surgical specialties who deliver care to any patients with life limiting diagnoses and/or who may be too frail for intensive treatments/surgery.
We can provide not only symptom control but also support proactive discussions and planning with their patients and families.
Putting patients at the heart of everything we do
Good communication, joint decision making and personalised care planning can make such a positive difference to patients and their families; it can help them to receive timely treatments when appropriate and to be supported by quality care in their preferred place at the end of their lives.
In working across RVI, Freeman Hospital, NCCC and the community, I am so pleased to see the excellent palliative and end of life care delivered by staff working in all roles and directorates – everyone’s input can make such a difference to patients and families at the end of life.
I am thrilled that this care given by all staff has been recognised by our Trust performing higher than average in the recent comparative National Audit of End of Life Care.
