[A version of this item appears in: Dementia: the Latest Evidence Newsletter (RWHT), Volume 2 Issue 10, May 2012].
Summary
This report from the National End of Life Care Programme identifies the critical success factors and good practice involved improving end of life care, with an emphasis on enabling people to die in their place of choice. The critical success factors are cited to be:
- Strong commissioning and clinical leadership.
- Use of nationally recognised drivers to attract payment: Local Enhancement Schemes (LES) and CQUINs.
- Flexible budgets and care packages.
- Use of nationally recognised tools or their local equivalent: Advance Care Planning (ACP), Gold Standards Framework (GSF), Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), Preferred Priorities for Care (PPC), After Death Analysis (ADAs) and CHC.
- Fast Track Pathway (CHC).
- Shared electronic information systems.
- Clearly defined access to 24 hour cover.
- Development of Care Homes.
- Use of facilitator roles (for example dementia facilitators) and coordination of care across boundaries.
- Training to support staff delivering EoLC (including training centred around the awareness of dementia).
Note: The National End of Life Care Programme and the Department of Health’s End of Life Care Policy Team now lead the QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) End of Life Care work stream. This report is a contribution to the EoLC QIPP agenda.
Reference
National End of Life Care Programme (2012). Critical success factors that enable individuals to die in their preferred place of death: A report based on contributions from End of Life Care (EoLC) commissioners and providers of services within seven PCTs areas. London: National End of Life Care Programme, February 2012. Programme Ref: PB0025 A 02 12.
