New investment in coordinated care

Source: Marie Curie Cancer Care

Follow this link for the webpage

Date of publication: April 2012

Publication type: Website

In a nutshell: Marie Curie Cancer Care is managing a new innovative Palliative Care Coordination Centre for NHS South of Tyne and Wear which aims to deliver the right end of life care to people across the area, enabling them to be cared for and die in the place of their choice.

Acknowledgement: Help the Hospices

QIPP End of Life Care Event Report: Great Practice showcase

Source: National End of Life Care Programme

Follow this link for fulltext  

Date of publication: April 2012

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell:  Showcasing best practice, this event brought together End of Life Care commissioners, End of Life Care education leads, service managers and clinical practitioners to share learning about the tools available to deliver the QIPP challenge in this sector.  Key learning is summarised and there is an overview of the presentations and links to case studies and marketplace exhibitors.

Length of publication: 15 pages

Understanding the cost of end of life care in different settings

Source: Marie Curie  

Follow this link for fulltext 

Date of publication: February 2012

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: This report from Marie Curie’s considers the economic impact of providing care to patients in the community, rather than in the acute setting and presents a clear argument for the development of high-quality community-based care.  Marie Curie estimate:

• community care at the end of life costs £145 per day
• specialist palliative in-patient care costs £425 per day
• changing the setting of care could reduce daily costs by £280.
• between 355,000 and 457,000 patients need palliative care annually.
• If community services were developed to enable just 30,000 patients to reduce their hospital stay by just four days, there could be a saving of £34 million.

Length of publication: 8 pages

Cultural considerations in planning palliative and end of life care

Source: Palliative Medicine v.26(3) p195-6

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: April 2012

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: This article examines the  cultural dimensions of palliative care and considers that in the future, cultural factors are going to play just as strong a part in shaping end-of-life care around the world as will policies, professional ideologies and service configurations. Putting culture at the centre of palliative care will be a key determinant of efficacy and sustainability.

Length of publication: 2 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

Committed to carers: Supporting carers of people at the end of life

Source: Marie Curie Cancer Care

Follow this link for fulltext.

Date of publication: March 2012

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: This comprehensive report includes chapters on:

• the support provided by Marie Curie
• the impact on carers of caring for someone who is dying
• access to information and advice – including financial support
• place of care and place of death – home, hospice or hospital and achieving preferred place of death
• bereavement – including practical things and bereavement support
• summary and recommendations.

Length of publication: 24 pages

Bereaved family members’ assessments of the quality of end-of-life care: what is important?

Source:  Journal of Palliative Care, 01 December 2011, 27, (4), p.261-269

Follow this link for fulltext

Date of publication: December 2011

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: Using qualitative interview data, this study identifies what is important to families of patients who have received end of life care.  The study indicates that care-givers need to distinguish between :

•           perceived substantive or tangible features of received care

•           interpretations of the causes and symbolic meanings of that care

•           personal and affective outcomes

The authors encourage

•           practitioners to develop understanding of how their behaviours are interpreted by families

•           organisations to support improvements in practice and decision making at all levels in order to facilitate better experiences for patients and families.

Length of publication: 9 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

Acknowledgement: Cinahl

A global update on the development of palliative care services

Source: International Journal of Palliative Nursing, October 2011, 17, (10), p.472-476

Follow this link for fulltext

Date of publication: October 2011

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: This editorial commentary on worldwide progress in hospice and palliative care service provision focusses on progress made and ongoing issues which were highlighted in a recent study published by the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance.  Issues include the impact of national policies, increased clarification of palliative care terms and definitions, and initiatives raising public awareness, as well as funding and access to palliative care services.

Results show that there’s been a marked increase in the number of countries providing hospice and palliative care services.  The article explores some of the key factors behind the progress made and focuses on advocacy and policy developments.

Length of publication: 5 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. 

Acknowledgement: BNI

Evaluating Program Integration and the Rise in Collaboration: Case study of a palliative care network

Source: Journal of Palliative Care, Winter 2011, 27, (4), p.270 -279

Follow this link for fulltext

Date of publication: Winter 2011

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: This article focuses on an attempt to build capacity to deliver palliative care in an integrated way across a range of communities in Ontario, Canada.  The objective was to achieve an effective integrated system that was cost-effective and responsive to patient’s needs.  14 communities were involved and overall the approach appears to be beneficial.  Change has been gradual and structural issues continue to be a challenge.

Length of publication: 9 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. 

QIPP End of Life Showcase Events for Clinical Commissioners

Source:  National End of Life Care Programme

Follow this link for fulltext.

Date of publication: November 2011

Publication type: News

In a nutshell:  This series of four identical showcase seminars staged throughout the UK are funded by the QIPP End of Life national workstream in order to equip commissioners improve quality and drive down costs. They are designed around sharing best practice in community interventions at end of life and feature presentations from five organisations already achieving high quality, value for money outcomes for their end of life patients.

The purpose of these showcase events are:

• To give commissioners an overview of the current challenge and opportunity for QIPP at the end of life.
• To demonstrate models of community support at end of life that deliver desired quality, innovation, productivity and prevention outcomes
• To stimulate debate about critical success factors for effective commissioning at end of life
• To provide material which will support clinical commissioners and others in delivering QIPP at the end of life.

National end of life care strategy: third annual report

Source:  National End of Life Care Programme

Follow this link for fulltext.

Date of publication: September 2011

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: Produced by the Department of Health, this comprehensive report on the National EoLC Strategy details progress over the last year in the context of significant political, organisational and financial changes.  New key drivers are identified and mechanisms to incorporate them into the programme are set out.  Chapters include: Meeting the challenges of EoLC; The information revolution for people approaching the end of life; Improving outcomes for people approaching the end of life (care planning, coordination and delivery and commissioning).  The next steps for the programme are described in detail. 

Length of publication: 82 pages

National End of Life Care Programme Newsletter October 2011 – Theme: Acute Care

Source: National End of Life Care Programme

Follow this link for fulltext.

Date of publication: October 2011

Publication type: Newsletter

In a nutshell: This edition of the monthly newsletter contains articles on:

• Events for Commissioners
• Palliative and end of life rapid discharge pathway
• Spreading end of life care best practice in Acute Trusts
• Improving kidney patients end of life care  

Length of publication: 10 pages

When a person dies: guidance for professionals on developing bereavement services

Title: When a person dies: guidance for professionals on developing bereavement services

Source: NHS National End of Life Care Programme

Follow this link for the full report

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: The publication covers the principles of bereavement services, along with bereavement care in the days preceding death, at the time of death and in the days following death. It also includes guidance on workforce and education and the commissioning and quality outcomes of bereavement care.

Length of publication: 40 pages

 

Palliative day care: A qualitative study of service users’ experiences in the United Kingdom.

Source: Nursing & Health Sciences, 01 June 2011, vol. 13(2) p178-183

Date of Publication: June 2011

Follow this link for the article abstract

Publication type: Article

Publication Length: 6 pages

In a nutshell: During 2006 and 2007 the day care services at a hospice in England were redesigned. A new style service which comprised of specialist palliative care sessions replaced the traditional day care model. The objective of this study was to enhance the understanding of the aspects of the service which the users valued the most. The findings from the study were presented under 3 themes; the quality of staff; the sense of community;  and relationships. Of these, relationships between staff and patient groups held the greater significance. The article concluded that service providers need to recognise that the formation of relationships between staff, patients and carers are of the utmost importance when designing services.

Some important notes: Contact your local health library for a copy of this article. Follow this link to find your local health library.

Introducing clinical psychology support into community palliative care.

Source: European J Palliative Care, 2011, 18, (4),p. 195-7

Contact your local NHS library to obtain this article.

Date of publication: July 2011

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell:  This article reviews the role of clinical psychologists in providing psychology support in community palliative care in Tower Hamlets, east London. How the psychology support service was developed and the role played by clinical psychologists in the multidisciplinary team that provides community palliative care is discussed.  

Length of publication: 3 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.

Acknowledgement: BNI, Cinahl.