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

 Source:  Map of Medicine 

Follow this link for fulltext

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.

2010 Annual Evidence Update on End of Life Care

Source: NHS Evidence

Follow this link to view the update in full.

Date of publication: November 2010

Publication type: Annual Evidence Update

In a nutshell:  This year’s Annual Evidence Update (AEU) produced by the commissioning and innovation and improvement specialist collections is on end of life care. The AEU aims to bring together the latest knowledge and evidence about contemporary aspects of end of life care. Patient experience, measurement, pathways and access to services are all covered.

Some important notes: To get full access to the resource you will need an NHS Athens account. Please click here to register for an account. If you need further help please  click here to contact your local NHS library.

Health Department to report on quality of palliative care for cancer patients

Title: Health Department to report on quality of palliative care for cancer patients

Source: Help the Hospices

Follow this link for web article

Date of Publication: March 2010

Publication Type: Web article

In a nutshell: The Government is planning to publish a report which will evaluate the progress made regarding the implementation of NICE guidance on palliative care for adults with cancer. The report should be published by June 2010

Length of Publication: 1 page

Palliative care partnerships

Title:  Palliative care partnerships

Source:  Nursing Management

Follow this link for fulltext. (NHS Athens password is required)

Date of publication:  October 2009

Publication type: Journal article.

In a nutshell:  Research undertaken jointly by the Commission for the Compact and Help the Hospices indicates that there are issues which need to be addressed if partnerships are to achieve excellence.  By using the ‘Compact’ which is a set of guidelines for partnership working for voluntary and public sector bodies, relationships between organisations can be enhanced with clear benefits for patients.

 The article focuses on six important themes which emerged from the study:

* Funding and contracting arrangements.

* Maintaining the independence of hospices.

* Expertise of practitioners.

* Need for proactive approaches to care.

* Role of volunteers.

* Importance of personal relationships.

Length of publication: 4 pages.

NICE Issues Supplementary Advice for NICE Appraisal Committees tasked with appraising treatments which may extend life, at the end of life.

Source: National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence

Follow this link for supplementary advice to the Appraisal Committees, details of the consultation responses and the summary response to the consultation.

Date of publication:  August 2009

Publication type: webpages

In a nutshell: In order to support the Institute’s Appraisal Committees appraisal of treatments which may extend life at the end of life,  NICE have published the following:

Supplementary advice to the Appraisal Committees   (addendum to section 6.2.25 of the Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal which was approved by Institute’s Board on 17 December 2008.

Consultation responses – View on the proposition

Consultation responses – Wording in section 2

Consultation responses – Alternative methods

Consultation responses – General comments

Summary response to consultation

Acknowledgement:  Palliative Care Matters website.

NICE issues supplementary advice for appraising end-of-life drugs

Title: NICE issues supplementary advice for appraising end-of-life drugs which exceed £30,000 per QALY

Author: National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) 

Year of publication: 2009

  

In a nutshell:  NICE has issued supplementary advice for its Appraisal Committees, to be considered when they are appraising treatments which may be life-extending for patients with short life expectancy, and which are licensed for indications affecting small numbers of patients with incurable illnesses.  This advice forms an addendum to section 6.2.25 of the Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal.  

 

For full text click here

 

Length of publication: 3 pages.

 

 

 

NHS Confederation response to NICE consultation on end of life medicines

Title:  NHS Confederation response to NICE consultation on end of life medicines

 

Source:  National Electronic Library for Medicines 

Year of publication: 2008

Publication type: Response

In a nutshell: The NHS Confederation has responded to the recent consultation from NICE on proposals to supplement the advice it gives to its Appraisal Committees when they are asked to appraise life-extending medicines licensed for terminal illnesses affecting small numbers of patients.

The issues highlighted in the response are:  

1. The financial implications of the proposals are unclear, but could potentially be significant for PCTs.
2. There is some concern that treatments and services that are more cost effective but not subject to NICE guidance will lose out to pay for high cost end-of-life drugs as a result of these proposals.
3. While it is understood that these proposed changes of policy are an attempt to respond to expressed public values, more research into this topic is required.

Notes:  To access this response please contact your local NHS Library.

  

 

New NICE guidelines on the treatment and care of people with advanced breast cancer

Title: New NICE guidelines on the treatment and care of people with advanced breast cancer

Source: National Institute of Clinical Excellence

For fulltext link here

For abstract link here

Year of publication: 2009

Publication type: Guidelines

In a nutshell: The guideline, produced for NICE by the National Collaborating Centre for Cancer, will help clinicians to provide coherent and consistent care for patients with advanced breast cancer, providing a systematic framework to support patients with the disease and ensuring equal access to services across England and Wales.