More than half a million people die in England and Wales every year; five deaths in every six are of people aged 65 or older; and one in five of all deaths take place in a care home.
We know that often people find it difficult to talk about death and dying and that sometimes when someone you have been caring for dies this may make you feel that you have failed. The reality is that people within your care will die and dying is a normal part of living. Therefore the way we care for people towards the end of their lives is one of the measures of our success.
Palliative and end of life care offers a great deal of job satisfaction for staff. They are a positive part of health and social care, which try to make death as good as possible. This is important for the person themselves, the loved ones they leave behind and those who provide care at this important stage.
In August 2008, the Department of Health and the National End of LifeCare Programme issued a joint statement to confirm that NHS Continuing Healthcare funded care, can be delivered in a care home setting (nursing andor personal care). It is available for end of life care, and can be fast tracked if necessary. This is part of the National Framework for Continuing Care initiative.
This is an executive summary for a study commissioned by the National End of Life Care Programme to examine these issues in relation to the care of older people in nursing homes. The End of life care in nursing homes: Understanding and mapping solutions - Final Report: Jan 2009 is also available.
The study was conducted by staff from the Sue Ryder Care Centre for Palliative and End of Life Studies at the University of Nottingham and from the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University between September 2007 and November 2008.
(University of Nottingham and Lancaster University, November 2008)
Many care homes feel isolated and do not have the support they need to provide top quality end of life care. The National End of Life Care Programme recently commissioned a study to examine how these issues affected the care of older people in nursing homes. This briefing outlines the nain themes that emerged and summarised the report recommendations.
(NHS National End of Life Care Programme, May 2009)
Key publications and resources related to the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care.
(Department of Health)
