All-Age Palliative and End of Life Care Draft Strategy

You can read the full Strategy on our website or you can request a copy. 

As you can imagine, the Strategy contains a lot of information. Here is a short summary:

The Strategy includes a statement describing what we want to achieve in the long run from the Strategy. We have called that statement a vision, which says:

“We will ensure you have a personalised, comfortable and supported end of life with personalised support for your family and carers.”

The Strategy has 10 priorities which are listed below. These are the main aims that we would focus on and achieve. 

We will:

1)  Improve health equity in palliative and end of life care service planning, provision and outcomes.  (Equity recognises that everyone is not the same and will need appropriate support to address their needs).

2)  Map (or clearly understand) currently available palliative and end of life care services provided in different place to any identify gaps.

3)  Improve the services provided where gaps are identified, including for:

• • Bereavement support (helping someone cope with a death)
  • Anticipatory prescribing – this is medication prescribed in anticipation of symptoms to give relief from pain.
  • Social care offer – the services provided by socials care e.g. practical help everyday life.

4)  Improve systems for early identification of people at End of Life.  (Understanding earlier who needs support).  

5)  Improve advance care planning.  This is the discussion between an individual and their health and care provider about their preferences and priorities for their future care.

6)  Improve record sharing and inter-operability of data systems across settings.  (Making sure that everyone involved in a person’s care can access information about them and their needs, so patients don’t have to keep repeating it).

7)  Improve care transition between settings. Making sure if people move from one service to another, that this is easy for the patients and their loved ones.)

8)  Improve information, communication and engagement:

• • support available;
  • support to self-manage conditions;
  • access and signposting to information and services;
  • service offer;
  • promoting discussion about death and dying;
  • culturally appropriate information (being respectful and mindful of ethnicity, race, language, background, religion, gender and gender identity).

9)  Provide a consistent and comprehensive training and resilience offer for staff carers and volunteers (including recruitment), and monitor take-up. (Resilience is their ability to cope).

10) Improve the support provided to families and carers.

The Strategy explains an assessment that was undertaken by the Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council. The assessment outlines what is needed at end of life. It is divided into 6 ambitions. Each ambition has several actions that, if undertaken, will help to achieve the ambition. The ambitions are:

1. Each person is seen as an individual.
2. Each person gets fair access to care.
3. Maximising comfort and wellbeing.
4. Care is coordinated.
5. All staff are prepared to care.
6. Each community is prepared to help.

The Strategy lists 6 different workstreams (groups of people working together on certain tasks) that will be put in place to deliver the actions within the Strategy. They will report to a more senior group called the Palliative and End of Life Task Force. This group then reports into various other groups, so that their work is accountable overall to the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland NHS Integrated Care Board. The people on the Integrated Care Board are senior managers from all the main NHS and local authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It also includes organisations who represents patients.