How local partnerships support people at the end of life
Caring for people at the end of life isn’t something our teams at Rowcroft do alone. The care we provide is strengthened every day by the connections we have with local partners. GPs, community nurses, care workers, pharmaceutical staff and other health and social care professionals all work alongside us to support patients and their loved ones across South Devon.
Rowcroft’s Head of Community and Hospice at Home, Karenne Weaver, explains why working side-by-side with local organisations is so essential:
“Collaboration is vital for the safety and best care of our patients. If one part of the system is missing, things simply don’t run smoothly. One of the first things we ask our patients is, ‘What’s important to you?’ – and very often, they tell us they want to stay at home. To make that happen, they need the right support in place: district nurses visiting to manage various aspects of care, GPs overseeing, care agencies providing personal care, pharmacies providing medication, and Rowcroft’s Community and Hospice at Home team stepping in with whatever support is needed at the time.”
Community collaboration to provide the best care for patients
One example of this wonderful collaboration in action is our partnership with Dowricks Pharmacy in Torquay. Their support plays a crucial role in caring for our patients and has eased pressure on families and clinical teams alike.
“Having the medications we need, when we need them, makes such a difference,” said Karenne. “We’ve been building our relationship with Dowricks since early 2025. Over time, they’ve offered to hold the medications we use and keep extra stock on hand. If a patient needs something we wouldn’t normally request, we know we can go to them and they’ll order it in as quickly as they can. They genuinely want to support Rowcroft and our patients, and that means a lot.”
Lisa Dowrick, Pharmacy Director at Dowricks, said:
“Working in partnership with the team at Rowcroft is incredibly rewarding. We understand how time-critical it is to get essential medication to patients, particularly at end of life. We make sure any enquiry from the Rowcroft team is acted on swiftly and accurately, including sourcing special medications when required and keeping a strong stock of frequently needed medications. It is an absolute pleasure to work in collaboration with the Rowcroft team to help provide the very best care to patients.”
Standing together with local organisations
Partnerships such as this show how care is strengthened when organisations work together and support one another – which is particularly vital at this time when healthcare services are under real pressure.
“As we are only 24%-funded by the NHS, for our care to run smoothly we rely on our community for essential financial support, so it feels really special for Rowcroft to be able to support local businesses in return,” said Karenne. “Standing alongside local organisations is so important – and if there are other local businesses we can support, we’d love to do that.”