Resources

The Palliative Care Out of Hours Handover form for Professionals can be found here.

This form is for District Nurses to refer a patient to Hospital, Hospice or Social Services.

It can only be accessed from a NHS linked computer.

Download

This for is to refer a patient to specialist teams.

It can only be accessed from a NHS linked computer

Download

Disclaimer: These guidelines are the property of the Yorkshire Cancer Network Palliative Care Group. It is intended that they be used by qualified medical and other healthcare professionals as an information resource. They should be used in the clinical context of each individual patient’s needs. The palliative care group takes no responsibility for any consequences of any actions taken as a result of using these guidelines.

In difficult situations consider seeking advice from the local specialist palliative care team:

The Palliative Care Ambulance Service is a flexible and responsive service dedicated to the transportation of patients with palliative care needs, covering the city of Leeds. Find out more

Operational policy

Developed by Wyeth in collaboration with a multidisciplinary expert advisory group. This toolkit has been designed to support healthcare professionals and their patients manage opioid-induced constipation and is accredited by the RCN.

To download the toolkit please click here 

This is a list of resources available for care homes to find information which will help with the care of their residents, it is not exhaustive.

The 'What's new' page of this website should also be checked regularly.

If you know of any other information which could be of use please email us.

Click here to view the list

Download a list of services available to people living in Leeds including contact details for:

• Specialist & Palliative Care Services
• Respite Services
• Non-cancer organisations
• Bereavemnt support

Service Directory

A list of Palliative Care Leads and Champions for NHS Leeds Community Healthcare listed by wedge is available here.

Guidelines and Policies relating to palliative care are available through the Intranet for PCT staff.

These include:

• Making Decisions about Resuscitation PL130
• Clinical Guideline for the Safe Use of the McKinley T34 Syringe Driver in Adult Services PL188   
• Policy for the Verification of Expected Death of an Adult by a Registered Nurse PL117
• Guidelines for the Administration of Subcutaneous Fluids (Hypodermoclysis) to Adult Patients in Community Settings PL119

Click here to go to the Clinical Guidelines and Policies page and navigate to the relevant section.

The site contains guidelines and policies which are relevant to palliative care for staff in Primary and Secondary care trusts and has a comprehensive search facility.

Staff are reminded to check each document's relevance by ensuring it is aimed at their staff group.

You will need to be logged on to a NHS computer to access these pages.

Leeds Health Pathways

The Service Delivery Framework for palliative care patients was recently reviewed following the original launch in January 2008. Implementation of the framework was closely monitored and feedback on the framework itself was continually collated. As a result, an amended framework (renamed the Service Delivery Framework for Integrated End of Life Care) has now been produced.

Download pdf

New guidance for doctors, Treatment and care towards the end of life: good practice in decision making, came into effect on 1 July 2010.

This guidance replaces the booklet Withholding and withdrawing life-prolonging treatments (2002). It expands on the guidance in Consent, patients and doctors making decisions together, which sets out the principles on which good clinical decisions should be based, and provides a framework for good practice when providing treatment and care for patients who are reaching the end of their lives.

NICE produce versions of all their guidance for patients, carers and the public.

The 'Understanding NICE guidance' documents are designed to complement, not replace, other sources of patient information that explain in more detail the condition and available treatments. Most of these documents contain contact information for relevant patient or carer organisations that can provide more detailed information and support for specific conditions.

Article from The Medical Journal of Australia

Clinical practice guidelines for communicating prognosis and end-of-life issues with adults in the advanced stages of a life-limiting illness, and their caregivers

MJA 2007; 186 (12 Suppl): S77-S108

The Guidelines for Managing the Last Days of Life in Adults (pdf) have been designed for the use of health care professionals who are caring for dying patients in all settings including primary care, acute and community hospitals, care homes as well as in hospices. The principles apply to the care of people dying of both malignant and non-malignant conditions. Referral to specialist palliative care services is not always necessary but should always be considered based on the needs of the patient and referral is often made before the patient reaches the last days of life. This allows the patient and their family to establish relationships with the specialist palliative care team and enables everyone to prepare for the last days.

To view this journal please click here

To view the European Journal please click here

The communication skills steering group in Leeds has been working collaboratively to develop a strategy to provide a consistent and coordinated approach to palliative care communication skills training across stakeholder organisations within Leeds. The strategy provides practical help in addresses key recommendations from the End of Life Strategy, Darzi’s NHS Next Stage Review, and Yorkshire and Humber’s response “Healthy Ambitions” which all stress the need for all health and social care staff, at all levels to have the knowledge, skills and attitude to improve end of life care, with communication skills training being of paramount importance.

Leeds Communication Skills Strategy

This communication skills learning package has been adapted for use with health and social care staff who provide palliative and end of life care. It is by no means exhaustive, but is intended to give the learner an overview of communication skills required at level 1 as outlined in the Palliative care communication skills strategy.

Please note these resources are currently under review.

Level 1- communication skills learning pack

Level 1 learning outcomes and competency elements

This learning package will consider what makes communication effective and has been designed for use with health and social care staff who provide palliative and end of life care. It is by no means exhaustive, but is intended to give the learner an overview of communication skills required at level 2 as outlined in the palliative care communication skills strategy.

Please note these resources are currently under review.

Level 2 Communication Skills learning package

Level 2 - learning outcomes and competency elements

Priorities for Dementia Care within the End of Life Care Strategy’s Quality Markers and Measures for Commissioners

Living well with dementia: A National Dementia Strategy (DH, 2009) includes an objective of improved end of life care for people with dementia. It suggests that to meet that objective ‘local work on end of life care needs to focus on the large numbers of people who will die with dementia’ and makes reference to the End of Life Care Strategy: delivering high quality care for adults at the end of life (DH, 2008). This guide maps out some of the priorities for achieving high quality care for adults with dementia at the end of life.

The End of Life for People with Dementia report has been published by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) with Marie Curie Cancer Care, NHS Haringey, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, Haringey Council and For Dementia in October 2009.

This report is based upon: discussions at meetings with health service professionals who have cared for a wide range of people with dementia; conversations with carers of people with dementia; and an analysis of the histories of care received by a small sample of people with dementia who died in Haringey between May 2008 and March 2009.

The report is available from the NCPC website.

Newsletters and other resourcesfor PCCL's are available here.

National End of Life Care Programme

The National End of Life Care Programme works with health and social care services across all sectors in England to improve end of life care for adults by implementing the Department of Health’s End of Life Care Strategy.

Their website is designed to support health and social care staff working, in any capacity, with people nearing the end of life.

The National End of Life Care Intelligence Network (NEoLCIN) aims to improve the collection and analysis of information related to the quality, volume and costs of care provided by the NHS, social services and the third sector, to adults approaching the end of life. This intelligence will help drive improvements in the quality and productivity of services. The Network is supported by the National End of Life Care Programme.

The International Observatory on End of Life Care have produced a report on the CHESS programme and CAPCCS team. Click here to view the report

Pre – Course Questionnaire 

Please find attached a palliative care pre-course questionnaire which has been developed to: 

• Evaluate the marketing and administration of palliative care courses·   
• Asses prior knowledge, skills and confidence 
• Ensure education, training and development meets the needs of KSF outlines for individuals providing palliative care.

When booking online you are required to complete this evaluation prior to confirming your booking. It is important to complete the questionnaire prior to any training and hand the form to the course facilitator. Spare copies will be available on the day to be completed during the registration period.

Pre-course questionnaire

On the day questionnaires

The attached questionnaire will assess the course in terms of:

• Level and target audience
• Supporting materials
• Learning outcomes and learning needs
• Content
• Suitability of venue

This questionnaire can be printed and used for all palliative care courses provided by Leeds Stakeholder Organisations.

PC evaluation form

Post Course questionnaire

• Assess any improvement in knowledge, skills and confidence as a result of attending the education or training event
• Evaluate the impact palliative care education, training and development has had on practice
• Evaluate the impact palliative care education, training and development has had on patient and carer experience
• Identify any gaps in education or training and assist with the planning of future events
• Establish the demand for updates and refreshers and their frequency
• Ensure education, training and development meets the needs of KSF outlines for individuals providing palliative care.

Don’t forget to take a copy of the completed evaluation; it is evidence for your professional portfolio and appraisals / KSF development reviews.

Post Education and Training Evaluation Questionnaire