End of life care is care that helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well as possible until they die. It enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both patient and family to be identified and met throughout the last phase of life and into bereavement. The definition of the beginning of end of life care is variable according to individual person and professional perspectives. Generally, end of life care will be the last year or two of life but for some the start may be at the time of diagnosis of a condition which usually carries a poor prognosis, for example motor neurone disease, advanced liver disease or dementia where average life expectancy is 4.5 years and capacity may become an issue.

Improving the experience of end of life care for patients and their carers is a strategic priority in NHS South Central. Studies suggest that up to 75% of us would choose to die in our own homes if possible, but our wishes are not always known to those who care for us. South Central SHA supports the national Dying Matters campaign to encourage people to talk to their loved one about their dying wishes.

The vision for end of life care in South Central is to improve choice and quality as efficiently as possible. The programme aims to bring together all of the local health and social care communities to improve end of life care.

The programme team has been working with Primary Care Trusts to ensure that they have structures in place which include social care and the independent and voluntary sector to support local implementation of the programme.

Regionally, an End of Life Care Education Strategy has been developed and each PCT has developed its own education strategy which mirrors this.

The SHA has been selected as a pilot site for the Department of Health’s End of Life Care Strategy national bereaved carer’s survey ‘VOICEs’, which aims to provide some outcome measurement of the experience of end of life care. It encompasses all adults with advanced, progressive illness and care given in all settings.

Work has also been done to ensure the joining up of end of life care and dementia work streams, and NHS South Central has contributed to a South East regional strategy on implementing national plans for later life and dementia.

Please click here to visit the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network website

Training

Training in end of life care is being rolled out across South Central (for contact details please see Page 4 of the Adult Advance Care Planning (ACP) Toolkit). Alongside all of this training several modules of EoLC e-learning are freely available to anyone who would like to access them, these include communication skills and ACP which can help you in ACP whether you are considering your own future wishes or you are helping a family/friend or a patient/resident consider their wishes.

For these modules please access www.endoflifecareforall.com

There are also more detailed modules which cover all of the different aspects of EoLC and can therefore help clinicians to discuss these with their patients or residents.

For these modules please access www.e-elca.org.uk

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