End of Life Care Strategy published by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has released its STH-End-of-Life-Care-Strategy, a key priority for the Trust and asked us to ensure it was available for anyone interested in it.
The overall aims of the strategy are to:
1. Recognise – the possibility [that a person may die within the next few days or hours] is recognised and communicated clearly, decisions are made and actions taken in accordance with the person’s needs and wishes, and that these are regularly reviewed and decisions revised accordingly.
2. Communicate – ensure that communication is handled sensitively between staff and the dying person and those identified as important to them.
3. Involve – ensure the dying person and those important to them are involved in decisions about their care to the extent that the dying person wants.
4. Support– ensure that the needs of families and others identified as important to the dying person are actively explored, respected and met as far as possible.
5. Do – put in place an individual plan of care, which includes food and drink, symptom control and psychological, social and spiritual support, and ensure this is agreed, co-ordinated and delivered with compassion.
The strategy has other sections including Supporting our staff, Personalised end of life care, Communication and information, Environment, Indicators of success and Next steps.
