SHU End of life care
How we care for the dying is an indicator of how we care for all sick and vulnerable people
(National End of Life Care Strategy 2008)
End of life care is care that helps all those people with advanced, progressive illness to live as well as possible until they die. How people are treated when they are dying, shows the value we, as society place on life. End of life care is care that affects us all, at all ages, the living, the dying and the bereaved. It is not a response to a particular illness or condition.
People are ‘approaching the end of life’ when they are likely to die within the next 12 months.This includes people whose death is imminent (expected within a few hours or days) and those with
- advanced, progressive, incurable conditions
- general frailty and co-existing conditions that mean they are expected to die within 12 months
- existing conditions if they are at risk of dying from a sudden acute crisis in their condition
- life-threatening acute conditions caused by sudden catastrophic events.
End of life care enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both the patient and family to be identified and met throughout the last phase of life, especially the last 12months, into bereavement. It includes the management of symptoms and provision of psychological, social, spiritual and practical support.
(GMC 2010, NCPC 2011)
The specific duration of any one person’s end of life care will vary depending on their circumstances. Early identification of patients who will benefit from end of life care is vital as it helps improve the quality of life and experiences a person has during this time.
We know that for people approaching the end of life, being cared for and dying at home surrounded by loved ones is often the preferred choice. However, we also know that currently too many people’s preferences are not being met. People continue to experience poor care in the final months of their lives and of those who die, many still report inadequate pain relief, according to a survey of bereaved relatives and carers (ONS 2016). Enabling choice and improving people’s experience go hand in hand.
(Macmillan Cancer Support 2017 )
When it comes to death the statistics are stark. 100% of us will die. The question is what are we all going to do about that? How are we going to create confidence in the care that we may need? And how do we promote the well-being of those living with loss? We cannot defeat death. However, we can change the way we talk about dying, death and bereavement and prepare, plan, care and support those who are dying and the people who are close to them. We must strengthen and improve our ability to provide care whatever the circumstances of our dying.
(National Palliative and End of Life Care Partnership 2015)