Primary care is generally regarded as a “frontline” service. It is the first point of contact for most people and is delivered by a wide range of independent contractors such as GPs, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists.
The number of PCTs in England was reduced from 303 to 152 on 1 October 2006. The reduction has resulted in:
View a list of the 152 PCTs operating in England
These audit results was sent to all GP practices in Shropshire County PCT and Telford & Wrekin PCT that signed up to the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) principle to coordinate the care of patients included on a supportive care register.
(Shropshire County PCT and Telford & Wrekin PCT, August 2006 [File:157KB])
This is a personal report on an approach for palliative care patients to communicate resuscitation decisions in Hawaii and a presentation on The Hawaiian Experience 2008 by Jane Ridley.
The State of Hawaii has had a ‘Comfort Care Only’ law since 1995 which offers patients with a life limiting illness a recognised and accepted way of communicating their wishes regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the end of life.
(Jane Ridley, NHS Derbyshire County PCT, 2008)
Gold Standards Framework monitoring form for Community Palliative and end of life care in GP Practices.
(Shropshire County PCT and Telford & Wrekin PCT, March 2007 [File:221KB])
Tower Hamlets PCT commission healthcare for local people and directly provide a range of community health services.
The 'Delivering choice' programme was officially launched at the ‘End of life care in Tower Hamlets’ stakeholder event on 5 August 2008. This initiative makes Tower Hamlets the first PCT to pilot the Marie Curie end of life toolkit and expert adviser services.
(NHS Tower Hamlets PCT)
There are occasions when resuscitation may not be considered appropriate for a patient. The Trust and clinicians have an ethical, moral and legal obligation to ensure that the decision not to attempt resuscitation has been made jointly and in full consultation with the patient and/or family and multidisciplinary team caring for the patient. The fundamental issue for the family and care teams is that the patient’s best interests are being served.
(Oldham PCT / North West Ambulance Trust, April 2007 [File:137KB])
The purpose of this NHS Gloucestershire PCT newsletter is to raise the profile of end of life care by informing readers about local and national end of life care issues and developments, promoting the message that end of life care is everyone’s business.
(NHS Gloucestershire, January 2010)
An online palliative care educational and information resource for primary care teams, developed by palliative care health professionals in North Cumbria, UK.
(NHS North Cumbria Health)
Many opportunities exist for learning about palliative care. Traditional methods such as diplomas, degrees, local courses, journals and books are widely available and easily accessible and many are featured on these education pages.
(Palliative Care in Bradford and Airedale, 2007)
Appendices 1 to 4 for the Palliative support for patients with advanced heart failure initiative in Harrow: Pilot Audit; Patient Report; Triggers for referral; End of Life issues. This is a joint initiative between the Harrow community heart failure service, the Harrow community palliative care team, St Luke’s Kenton Grange Hospice and the Consultant in Palliative Medicine at North West London Hospitals NHS Trust.
(Palliative Care for Heart Failure Working Group, July 2005 [File:58KB])
This guidance is intended to assist those supporting people who lack capacity to make their own decisions, whether they are day-to-day decisions or larger decisions. The document focuses its practice examples on the context of end of life care; however the practical tips and tools may be used for other support contexts too. The guidance will:
Authors: Christine Hutchinson and Julie Foster
(East Lancashire Teaching PCT and Central Lancashire PCT, May 2008)
Keep Improving The Experience - KITE. The site is an information resource site for the standards, providing details on the processes and aims of Practice Accreditation.
Site is being updated - temporarily unavailable.
(General Practice / Duncan Leith , 2007)
This report provides a baseline review of end of life care for people with dementia in Haringey, leading to recommendations to improve access to palliative care services for this patient group.
(Marie Curie, NHS Haringey, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Mental Health Trust, Haringey Council, for dementia and The National Council for Palliative Care, October 2009)
This Good Practice Guide was jointly developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. This self-assessment toolkit is designed so that Primary Care Teams can measure themselves against agreed criteria for the services they provide for patients and their carers, particularly focusing on teamwork and practice organisation.
(Royal College of General Practitioners, 22 October 2008)
