End of Life Care Horizon Scanning Bulletin Volume 8 Issue 5

Marie Curie launch new end of life care programme

Source: eHospice

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Date of publication: April 2017

Publication type: News Item

In a nutshell: Marie Curie has launched a new palliative and end of life care programme designed to meet the increasing demands of the UK’s ageing population. The Design to Care Programme has brought together experts from palliative care, engineering, design, social sciences and public health to put together a new framework. It is set to meet the increasingly complex palliative care needs of the UK’s population, and to be flexible enough to be rolled out anywhere in the UK for all people at the end of life.

Length of publication: 1 page

World religions and palliative care organisations publish charter on palliative care for older people

Source: ehospice

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Date of publication: April 2017

Publication type: News Item

In a nutshell: Representatives from major world religions and palliative care organisations have published a charter on palliative care for older persons. The charter recognises that: “each older person has full value and human rights, and contributes to society including when fragile and in need of care,” and sets out the barriers to older people accessing palliative care.

Length of publication: 1 page

Some important notes: The full charter can be accessed here.

The state of the UK children’s hospice nursing workforce: a report on the demand and supply of nurses to children’s hospices

Source: Together for Short Lives

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Date of publication: April 2017

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: This report sets out what Together for Short Lives found when they carried out a snapshot survey of nurse vacancies at UK children’s hospice organisations in December 2016. They found that:
• the children’s hospice nurse vacancy rate has grown since 2015
• it is getting harder to recruit nurses to posts with increasing shortages of more experienced nurses
• the nursing shortfall means that children’s hospices are being increasingly forced to cut back the vital palliative care they can offer to families.

Length of publication: 28 pages

Hospice and ambulance service team up on Facebook to train paramedics in end of life care

Source: eHospice

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Date of publication: April 2017

Publication type: News Item

In a nutshell: The Hospice of St Francis and The East of England Ambulance NHS Trust (EEAST) joined forces earlier this month with a live Facebook chat about paramedics called to emergencies of patients at the end of life. The event was part of the ambulance service’s End of Life Care Awareness month and aims to increase the skills and knowledge of its paramedic team in relation to managing patients at the end of life.

Length of publication: 1 page

No regrets: how talking more openly about death could help people die well

Source: Macmillan Cancer Support

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Date of publication: April 2017

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: This report by Macmillan Cancer Support finds that more than 62,000 people die of cancer in hospitals each year in the UK despite a significant majority stating that they would like to die at home. It reveals the challenging obstacles that people face when discussing death and highlights the need for better communication to help people plan for their final days.

Length of publication: 15 pages

 

Virtual reality helps hospice patients

Source: BBC Inside Out London

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Date of publication: March 2017

Publication type: Video clip

In a nutshell: A hospice in south London is using virtual reality (VR) to help benefit people who are approaching the end of their lives, by allowing them to enjoy experiences they might otherwise be isolated from. It is a joint initiative between Flix Films and Trinity Hospice in Clapham and is one of the many ways medical professionals are now using VR to improve patient well-being.

Length of publication: 8 minutes

Some important notes: A similar project is also taking place at a hospice in Leicester. Details can be viewed here.