End of life care training for care workers in Tees Valley

Source: National End of Life Care Programme

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Publication Date: April 2011

Publication Type: Website

Publication Length: 1 page

In a nutshell: Over 700 care workers in Tees Valley have attended a one-day training course on end of life care. The training, which was developed and delivered by the Practice Development and Quality Nurse from Hartlepool and District Hospice, covers all aspects outlined in the Gold Standard Framework. It includes an end of day assessment and following successful completion, learners are issued with a certificate. As a result of the training care staff are more aware of how to provide support and care to someone who is dying and have an increased understanding of bereavement issues for family and carers.

Spreading best practice in dementia and end of life care

Source:  Advancing Quality Alliance

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Date of publication:  April 2011

Publication type:  Case Study

In a nutshell:   Led by Greater Manchester and Cheshire Palliative Care Network, this project aims to build on existing end of life care tools such as the Gold Standard Framework and the Liverpool Care Pathway.  The objective is to provide sets of tools that equip GP and out-of-hours providers to make better decisions about end of life care for dementia suffers which will result in the provision of more appropriate care and significant cost savings. 

Length of publication: 2 pages

End of life care in adults pathway published on Map of Medicine

 Source:  Map of Medicine 

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Date of publication:  December 2010

Publication type:  News item

In a nutshell:  This new pan-specialty pathway extends beyond purely palliative care pathway that it replaces.  It incorporates physical needs, practical and social needs, psychological and spiritual needs, support for families and patients priorities and preferences.  It is based on high-quality guidance from national sources including the Gold Standards Framework and NICE.

Going for gold in primary care

Title: Going for gold in primary care

Source: Primary Health Care, 20(4): 22-24

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Date: May 2010

Publication type: Article

Publication length: 3 pages

In a nutshell: Caring for people who are approaching the end of their lives and their families is at the heart of general practice. Primary care teams have small numbers of patients in the final year or so of life but this is when most health care and support is needed. A new training package from the gold standards framework builds on existing programmes to enable primary care teams to achieve the best possible care for patients and their families.

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Using prognostic indicator guidance to plan care for final stages of life

Source: Primary Health Care

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Date of publication: July 2010

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: The author describes how clinicians and healthcare providers could improve predictions of patients needs as they near the end of their lives by using  prognostic indicator guidance.   Primary care teams along with care homes and hospitals that use this method of identification, assessment and planning find it much easier to provide top quality proactive care where it is most needed.  They also find they are better able to adhere to patients’ wishes and avert crises as well as reducing inappropriate hospital admissions and hospital deaths.

Length of publication: 4 pages.

Some important notes: This article is available in full text with an NHS Athens account.  If you do not have an NHS Athens account please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

What progress has been made towards implementing national guidance on end of life care? A national survey of UK general practices.

Source: Palliative Medicine, January 2010, 24 (1) ap68-78

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Follow this link to view this article in fulltext using your NHS Athens login.

Date of publication: January 2010

Publication type: article

In a nutshell: The article describes a study which evaluated the incidences of GP Practices in the UK engaging in recommended practices relating to supportive and palliative care of adults with cancer in relation to participation in national initiatives.  Responses were obtained from 60% of the randomly selected Practices and responses indicated which of the initiatives they had been involved with. The findings appear to support the role of national initiatives in improving the quality of end-of-life care delivery in general practice.

Length of publication: 11 pages

Some important notes:  If you do not have an NHS Athens login please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Acknowledgement: Medline

An end-of-life care initiative for people with dementia

Source: European Journal of Palliative Care 2009, vol. 16(5) p240-3

Date: Sept/ Oct 2009

Publication Type: Article

In a nutshell: This article examines research carried out in NHS North West Greater Manchester PCT  evaluating the use of the Gold Standards Framework and the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient, as models of care to improve the quality of end-of-life care for older patients with dementia in long-term care settings. The effects on patients, their families, carers and staff were assessed.

Length of Publication: 3 pages

Acknowledgements: British Nursing Index

Notes: Contact your local health library to obtain a copy of this article. There are no links available to the abstract of this article.

A national facilitation project to improve primary palliative care: impact of the Gold Standards Framework on process and self-ratings of quality

Source: Quality and Safety in Health Care 2009; 18 :174-180

Date of publication: June 2009

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: An analysis of the impact of the implementation of the Gold Standards Framework for Palliative Care during the period 2003-2005 which involved around 1300 GP practices. The findings show all dimensions of quality improved following GSF implementation.

Length of publication: 7 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Transforming Community Services: Ambition, Action, Achievement Transforming End of Life Care

Source: Department of Health

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Date of publication: June 2009

Publication type: Practice Guidelines

In a nutshell: This is one of six ‘transforming community services guides’ aimed at frontline staff and their leaders. The guides are based on the best practice framework incorporating defined stages of ‘ambition’, ‘action’ and ‘achievement’. The Next Stage Review states that a high quality workforce is essential to achieve quality care. Each guide describes the six transformational attributes, which individuals and teams will need to demonstrate in order to meet the requirements of their highperforming ‘practitioner, partner, leader’ roles. Chapters in this publication include: 1. Getting the basics right; 2. Making everywhere as good as the best; 3. Delivering Evidence Based Practice; 4. Developing and supporting people to design, deliver and lead hight quality community services. Also included are ‘next steps’ for Providers, Practitioners and Clinical Leaders and for Commissioners.

Length of publication: 34 pages

Acknowledgement: Department of Health

Exploring preferences for place of death with terminally ill patients: qualitative study of experiences of general practitioners and community nurses in England

Source:  British Medical Journal 

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Date of publication: 15th July 2009

Publication type:  Article

In a nutshell:  The qualitative study using semistructured interviews and thematic analysis explores the experiences and perceptions of 17 general practitioners and 19 community nurses in discussing preferences for place of death with terminally ill patients. The participants are employed in 15 general practices participating in the Gold Standards Framework for palliative care from three areas in central England with differing socio-geography. Practices were selected on the basis of size and level of adoption of the standards framework.  The results are set out in detail and the conclusions of the research were that further research is required to enable development of training and support services for primary care professionals and that better understanding of the importance of the location of death to patients and their carers is also needed. An extensive bibliography is included.

Length of publication:  webpage

National Annual Gold Standards Framework Conference: ‘Going for Gold’

Source: Gold Standards Framework NHS website

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Date of publication:  July 2009

Publication type:  Webpage

In a nutshell:  Summary of the content of the National Annual Gold Standards Framework Conference held 30.6.09  ‘Going for Gold’ which marked the launch of the next stage GSF Primary Care Programme.     

Conference topics included talks and workshops on GSF Care Homes, the new GSF Acute Hospital Pilot, the After Death Analysis National Audit, Omega and others, plus presentation of the Quality Hallmark Awards for accredited care homes.

Includes links to the following presentations:

• The Challenge of End of Life Care for Primary Care Teams – how will we cope? – David Colin-Thome
• End of Life Care in the Community – benefits and costs – Karen Taylor
• The DH End of Life Care Strategy one year on – where to now? – Mike Richards
• The GSF Update – GSF Team
• The Key Role of Nurses in Communities – Lynn Young
• Are we nearly there! ‘Going for Gold’ – Max Watson

National End of Life Care Team Briefing Newsletter

Source:  National End of Life Care Programme

Click here to link to the newsletter

Date of publication:  13th April 2009

Publication type:  E-bulletin

In a nutshell:  The theme of this edition of the newsletter is End of Life Care Tools and articles include: The Gold Standards Framework Centre; Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient; Preferred Priorities for Care; A Forward Planning Tool for Adults with Learning Disabilities.

A national facilitation project to improve primary palliative care: impact of the Gold Standards Framework on process and self-ratings of quality

Title: A national facilitation project to improve primary palliative care: impact of the Gold Standards Framework on process and self-ratings of quality

Author: Dale J et al

Source: Quality and Safety in Health Care 2009;18:174-180

In a nutshell: Improving quality of end-of-life care is a key driver of UKpolicy. The Gold Standards Framework (GSF) for Palliative Care aims to strengthen primary palliative care through facilitating implementation of systematic clinical and organisational processes. The objective of this article is to describe the general practice that participated in the GSF programme 2003-5 and the changes in processes and perception of quality that occurred in that year following entry to the programme and to identify factors associated with the extent of change. In conclusion, the implementation of GSF seems to have resulted in substantial improvements in processes and quality of palliative care.

Length of article: 6 pages

National End of Life Care Conference

Source:  NHS End of Life Care for Adults

Follow this link for full details: Conference Programme

Date of event:  17 June 2009 

Location:  Hilton London Metropole Hotel, 225 Edgware Road, London, W2 1JU

In a nutshell:   The National End of Life Care Conference: Working together to improve services for people at the end of life will deliberate the Public Accounts Committee Review of the National Audit Office’s End of Life Care Report.

The report identified scope for more people to die well in a place of their choice. It recommended improving training; extending specialist palliative care services; and improving joint commissioning and partnership working by deploying existing and future resources more efficiently and effectively where PCTs can reconfigure services to best meet the needs of the local population.

The aims of the Conference include:

• Consider the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendations following the review of the NAO End of Life Care Report
• Update on the End of Life Care Strategy one year in
• Discover how more people can die in a place of their choice
• Learn how we can reduce the hospital stay time for people approaching the end of their life
• Discover how acute hospitals are seeking to improve the hospital experience of death and dying for patients and their families
• Find out about services provided by Hospices and NHS Palliative Care Providers and how these services may be enhanced
• Specific learning streams : 
  •  
    • Developing End of Life Care Pathways
    • Improving End of Life Care in Care Homes
    • Delivering Choice Programme
    • Patient Voice: Listening to and responding to patients and carers
• Be able to drive more effective commissioning and partnership working between the NHS, social services and the voluntary sector
• Network and share best practice with your peers and all those involved in end of life care

Acknowledgement:  National End of Life Care Programme