End of life care helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well as possible until they die. When a person is identified as at the end of life, they deserve to receive care that is compassionate, appropriate and gives them a choice in how they are cared for. Support includes doing those things that are important to the patient and their family throughout the last days of life and into bereavement.
The End of Life Care Team was established to ensure that systems and processes are in place as identified within the National End of Life Care Strategy (DH, 2008) and the current ‘Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care’ (NPEoLCP 2016) to promote the delivery of high quality end of life care, irrespective of the patient’s diagnosis and place of care.
The role of the team
The End of Life Care Team have expert knowledge and practice within the field of end of life care and palliative care providing education, support and leadership on all aspects of end of life care. This includes excellent communications skills with other community services to support all Wirral Care Homes with the aim to ensure high quality care and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions at end of life.
The team is comprised of the End of Life Care Facilitator, End of Life Care Support nurse and End of Life Care Coordinator working alongside the Wirral Community Specialist Palliative Care Team (Macmillan).
The team work with health and social care professionals to:
- Equip staff with the knowledge of the North West End of Life Care model and skills required to identify patients who are in the last 12 months of life
- Equip staff with knowledge of the North West End of Life Care good practice guide and skills to apply this in support of the care of patients and their families in the last 12 months of life
- Provide training which helps staff develop sensitive communication skills which supports holistic assessment and opportunities for discussion of patients preference for care at the end of life
- Ensure that carers are provided with necessary support, offering sensitive exploration of needs and completion of carer assessment with signposting to additional support
- Educate health and social care professionals so that they are confident in providing high quality end of life care which embraces the 5 priorities of care for the dying person
- Evaluate and measure the quality of end of life care
- Facilitate an integrated approach to end of life care
- Promote the sharing of good practice
- Coordinate the interchange of information to linked services via an end of life supprotive care register which will feature all patients who are identified as being in the last 12 months of life
- We support community healthcare professionals involved in delivering end of life care to use the Wirral Record of Care for Care in the Last Days of Life Document. This document is recognised as best practice on The Wirral and is used when it is recognised that a person may have entered the last days or hours of life.
Please note: The End of Life Care Team do not have direct contact with patients.
Training
The End of Life Care Team work closely with Wirral University Teaching Hospital to provide palliative and end of life education. If you’re a Wirral health or social care professional and would like some support, training or guidance around end of life care then please contact the End of Life Care Team on [email protected]
Resources
What to expect when someone important to you is dying
Universal Principles for Advance Care Planning (ACP)
Palliative Care Services across Wirral – leaflet
Useful websites
Contact us
End of Life Care Team
Wirral Community Specialist Palliative Care Team (Macmillan) Office, St Johns Hospice
Wirral
CH63 6JE
Email – [email protected]
