Many people do not discuss end of life preferences with those closest to them, although this can be beneficial to the individual and wider population. This study evaluated a community intervention to promote end of life preparation and discussion among people who are currently well. Open Access Article
GP surgeries will now be able to display a 'daffodil mark' as a sign of commitment to improving end of life care, as part of a new partnership between the Royal College of GPs and the terminal illness charity Marie Curie.
The mark, synonymous with the charity, is based on a new set of criteria called the Daffodil Standards – a set of eight quality improvement statements designed to support primary care teams in delivering care to patients living with an advanced, serious illness or at the end of their lives, and their loved ones.
Having a terminal or life-limiting illness can increase a person’s risk of taking their own life. Find out how to have compassionate conversations and offer support
When Robin Walton was a nursing student on a London hospital ward in the 1960s, a patient climbed out of the window one day and jumped to his death.
To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Commentary on:
Rosenwax L, Spilsbury K, Arendts G, et al. Community-based palliative care is associated with reduced emergency department use by people with dementia in their last year of life: a retrospective cohort study. Palliat Med 2015;29:727–36.
Implications for practice and research
We need to better understand how community palliative care should be organised and delivered to optimise well-being for the dementia population.
Research is needed to explore and explain the nature of the relationship between community palliative care and emergency department (ED) use.
More work is needed to examine which palliative care principles are most effective in reducing ED visits. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Physicians are increasingly confronted with people with intellectual disabilities (ID) who are facing life-threatening diseases. We aimed to explore when and based on which information sources and signals physicians recognised that a patient with ID would die in the foreseeable future. Insights may help in identifying patients in need of palliative care. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Editorial. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
This resource aims to help frontline professionals and providers working in community settings and commissioners maintain a holistic approach to the people dying, caring or bereaved.
It provides information to help ensure that commissioning and delivery of services and practice takes account of spiritual needs of the largest 6 faith groups in England and remains appropriate to the community setting in which they work.
The government must ensure dying people have access to 24/7 community nursing, according to the End of Life Care Coalition. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
PEOPLE WHO have dementia do not receive appropriate end of life care and sufficient pain relief, a conference heard. Login using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
In attempting to protect people with learning disabilities, staff can prevent them from making informed decisions. A LEADING nurse has said that many people with learning disabilities die a ‘disenfanchised death’ because the staff caring for them want to protect them from the reality of their impending demise. Login using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
An article highlighting challenges and opportunities for researchers working in the area of palliative and end of life care has published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, this week.
The commentary piece, by NIHR Senior Investigator Professor Irene Higginson, talks about the importance of the roles of research organisations like the NIHR, in funding leading-edge, needs-led research to improve palliative and end of life care across all disease areas.
Palliative care advocates a holistic, multiprofessional approach to the care of people with life-threatening disease. In addition to the control of physical symptoms attention should also be paid to psychosocial, cultural and spiritual aspects of the patient's experience of illness. Guidance documents and research evidence reflect the complexity of the patient's journey and the need to regularly assess these areas of need over time. Cultural background can shape how patients respond to life-threatening illness, as can the beliefs held by the patients, whether religious or more broadly spiritual. Research evidence shows the importance of identifying and addressing cultural and spiritual aspects of care held by patients, families and staff. These are often neglected in clinical practice due to the focus on biomedical concerns and staff discomfort in engaging with beliefs and culture. Recent studies have highlighted gaps in the research, and some methodological difficulties and indicate many patients welcome healthcare staff enquiring about the importance of their beliefs and culture. Identifying research priorities is necessary to guide future research and strengthen the evidence base. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Every palliative care formulary contains equivalence charts for commonly used opioids such as morphine, oxycodone, buprenorphine, and fentanyl, the bedrock of pain control in cancer. Two new studies examined how dosing is applied in clinical practice. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
To explore patients' and family caregivers' experiences and perceptions of Hospice at Home care. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
VARIATION IN the quality of care provision has been found following the first national audit of end of life care in hospitals since the withdrawal of the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP). Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
This integrated checklist from the London End of Life Care Clinical Network is a resource for commissioners to review their existing services and to use those parts that are most relevant or needed locally.
More than a third (34 per cent) of Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) do not consider the needs of dying people in their assessments of the health and care needs of their local populations, according to a new report which highlights that end of life care is being overlooked by many health and care leaders in England.
The report, published today by the charity Hospice UK, also shows that well over half (57 per cent) of HWBs do not include the needs of dying adults and children in their key strategies that inform local service planning, with no change since 2014.