Meg Williams, Sian Hughes, Jamie-Lee Cook and Amber Summerhayes
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Project Background:
‘Palliative and End of Life Care is everyone’s business’
ABUHB Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) Team provides a consult service and education for staff, supporting complex needs of palliative and end of life patients across all adult specialities. The SPC Directorate are a small team covering a large geographical area, with deficits in workforce and national recruitment issues.
Increased trajectory Approx. 6,000 people per year die in Gwent with a predicted increase of 10% by 2039 (ABUHB IMTP 2022-2025).
Hospital deaths 52% of deaths occur within ABUHB hospitals (Last Year of Life Population Dashboard).
Generalist Team Demand Approx. 67% of dying patients are not known to Specialist Palliative Care (SPC Mortality Audit 2024).
An innovative solution to drive change was developing a Palliative Care Medical Champions Programme to empower and upskill the medical workforce.
Project Aims and Objectives:
Key Aim: To improve the provision of timely and quality palliative and end of life care in acute settings, by developing a robust training programme.
Project Approach:
A two-day interactive training programme was developed for medical staff. A scoping exercise identified enthusiasm for learning and training needs. Topics included symptom management, communication, care in the last days of life, advance care planning, irreversibly deteriorating patient and opioid management. This was promoted via stakeholder engagement, social media and video/poster. Pre and post evaluations were undertaken to assess impact and change of practice of participants.
A collaborative Working Group was key to ensure delivery of the programme.
Project Outcomes:
Thirty-three medical staff across various specialties and disciplines attended the programme, including Consultants, Specialty Doctors, Junior Doctors and Physician Associates.
Of the participants who provided feedback:
- 100% felt that their knowledge and skills have improved.
- 100% felt the changed practice had a positive impact for patient/family/carers.
- 100% would recommend the programme to their peers.
Feedback:
View the project poster and slides from the Cohort 8 Bevan Exemplar Showcase
