Download your free copy of the framework here: http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/services/item/536-end-of-life-care-cstf-download
Health Education England commissioned Skills for Health and Skills for Care to develop the framework as an expansion of the existing Common Core Principles and Competences for individuals working in the sector. It was developed in close coordination with a steering group of healthcare organisations, hospices, campaign groups and academic institutions from around the UK. Most individuals working in health and social care are likely to care for someone approaching their end of life at some time. Bringing core skills and knowledge together in this way will enable organisations, service providers and clinical teams to benchmark their own standards, identify areas they need to improve and take steps to address them.
The framework builds on the Government’s National End of Life Care Strategy and response to the Review of End of Life Care, which stated that everyone has access to ‘high quality, personalised end of life care built around their needs’. This person-centred approach is key to current thinking and policy around end of life care: considering each patient’s individual needs, preferences and available support networks and involving them and their families and carers in decisions around their care.
To achieve this, the new framework promotes greater collaboration between organisations in the health and care sectors and in the community. It is underpinned by six guiding principles, including seeing each patient as an individual, maximising comfort and wellbeing and ensuring care is coordinated, all to help people ‘live as well as possible until they die.’
The framework is applicable to individuals working across the health and social care sectors, as well as their employers, community organisations and education and training providers. It classifies key skills and knowledge into three tiers, ranging from general end of life care awareness to the in-depth knowledge needed to care for and support an individual approaching the end of their life, and their family.
John Rogers, Skills for Health said, ‘Health and social care staff have the opportunity to make a positive difference to the experience of people who are dying, their families and carers; not just through palliative treatment but also through emotional support. This can be a rewarding but also demanding experience, requiring a diverse mixture of technical skills, knowledge, compassion and resilience. It is vital that staff are equipped to meet these expectations. This new framework will consolidate, clarify and benchmark the key knowledge and competences staff at all levels need to provide patients and their families with the very best support and care at this vulnerable time.’
Download your free copy of the framework here: http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/services/item/536-end-of-life-care-cstf-download