a step by step guide to great end of life care: a care ... · pdf file potter, j., saunders,...
TRANSCRIPT
To develop a step by step guide to giving best care, from recognition that a patient is dying to transfer of a body to the mortuary. It would be the standard reference for all medical nursing and administrative staff involved in any in patient area: A&E, Ward or ITU.
3
A focus group (Palliative Care Consultants, Care of the Elderly
Consultants, Junior Doctors, Nurses, Chaplaincy Team and
Mortuary Staff) reviewed recent national directives regarding
gold standard care – One Chance to get it Right1, Guidance for
staff responsible for care after death2, and pre-existing Trust
wide policies regarding EOLC and care after death. The group
discussed the essential elements of care and guidance needed
by staff until consensus was reached for each element to be
included in the final resource.
The essential building blocks to providing excellent care were
agreed and distilled into Step 1- 8 for Care of Dying Person,
and Steps 9 - 19 for Care and Respect After Death. Both
sections contain clinical guidance, information support,
Patient Information Leaflets (PIL) and administrative protocols
(Table 1).
In a busy general hospital end of life care (EOLC) can be fragmented & of variable quality. Generic health care professionals need simple, accessible & practical advice regarding how to ensure best comprehensive care.
*Based on the Priorities of Care of the Dying Person, this includes
recognition of dying, ceilings of care, explicit plans regarding food and
drink, symptom control and anticipatory prescribing, patients and carer
involvement and communication.
The guide has been compiled into large, purple and white
Resource Folders that are clearly visible at each nursing
station in each inpatient area. The front cover states the in
and out of hours contact details for Specialist Palliative
care advice. It is the standard reference for care of all
patients, and the focus of teaching on Trust Induction
Training.
Volunteers from the Hospital Macmillan Information Centre
hold copies of all documents in the resource folder and
replenish items on a regular basis.
Funding requirements – Resource Folders paid for
through Hospital Palliative Care Department Charitable
Fund.
A Step by Step Guide to Great End of Life Care: a
multidisciplinary resource for use in all inpatient
settings
AIM 2
METHODS
CONCLUSION 5
1 BACKGROUND
RESULTS 4
Table 1: Elements Of Guidance in Resource Folder
Figure 1. Generic and Specialist Palliative Care Staff of
all grades refer the resource folder
REFERENCES
1One Chance to Get it Right 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32
3188/One_chance_to_get_it_right.pdf 2Guidance for staff responsible for care after death 2014
http://www.nhsiq.nhs.uk/media/2426968/care_after_death___guidance.pdf
Potter, J., Saunders, Y., Bunker, L. The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Section Clinical guidance Information support
Administrative protocols
Care for the Dying Person
How to create an Individualised Care Plan for Excellent Care at the End of Life* How to set up a syringe driver Mini guidelines on symptom control
What to expect when someone is dying PIL Tissue donation PIL Chaplaincy team contact details
How to complete Individualised Care Plan
Care & Respect after Death
How to verify death When to refer to a Coroner Pictorial guide to undertaking Last Offices
Bereavement PIL Chaplaincy team contact details
Mortuary Infection Control notification Cancellation of future hospital appointments