AN INNOVATIVE system of priority care for the terminally-ill was launched on Monday with a Hartley Wintney man the first to receive a new ‘Gold Care’ card.

On offer to all those in the area with terminal and incurable illnesses, the card will act as a trigger to let all health professionals know of the patient’s need for urgent care.

Henry Ayres, 68, received his card on Monday from his GP Dr Charlotte Hutchings of the Hartley Wintney surgery, who is also the end-of-life lead for Calleva Commissioning Group, the group behind the initiative.

Mr Ayres, a former landscape gardener, explained: “It means I won’t have to keep telling people that I am terminally ill.

“As soon as I say I have a Gold Care card, people will know what my situation is.”

Everyone in health care, including receptionists, GPs, the ambulance service, hospitals and hospices should instantly understand the significance of the card and the need for instant help.

Dr Hutchings, who with a team at Calleva, has worked for two years to examine end-of-life care, said: “Patients and their families are often reluctant to explain they are ‘end-of-life’.

“We hope this card will make life easier for end-of-life patients and those working with them but it doesn’t mean other patients without a card are less important.”

Mr Ayres, who lives in St Mary’s Road, suffers from emphysema and was told his condition was terminal last year.

He said although not all end-of-life patients would be happy to be the recipients of such a card, he was fully behind the scheme, saying: “Anything that will help make life a bit easier has got to be a good thing.”

The card will be piloted for six months in the area covered by Calleva in Basingstoke and North Hampshire and, if successful, will be rolled out permanently at a later date.

It is part of a bigger initiative involving co-ordinated care teams and better provision of health and social care information for end-of-life patients.