UCLPartners launch free educational materials for care home staff

From today, care home staff from across the country will be able to gain free access to educational materials aimed at facilitating the delivery of high quality end of life care (EOLC).

These materials have been developed by UCLPartners as part of a wider programme of work that aims to improve the care that patients and those important to them experience in the last weeks and days of life. The importance of this work is particularly pertinent at present as the number of people living longer with increasingly complex health problems is growing, particularly the older population living in care homes.

In 2014 the report One Chance To Get It Right recognised that staff caring for dying people often do not have the skills and knowledge to deliver excellent end of life care. Therefore, these educational materials have been developed to give care home staff the knowledge and skills needed to deliver excellent care for residents at the end of life.

The launch of these materials follows a successful pilot in nursing and residential homes in the London Boroughs of Camden and Enfield, where over 60 staff have been trained using the materials.

A Community Matron from a Local Care Home Support Service that took part in the pilot said: “The training has panned out very well [and] the carers seem to have a better understanding of end of life care… I am quite pleased with the how the care home is dealing with end of life at present and hopefully all the carers will be more confident and competent to look after end of life patients.”

The materials include:

• An educational film
• A modular lesson planning guide
• Learner activities and discussion topics that accompany the film
• Evaluation tools

UCLPartners is working with Healthy London Partnership in 2018/19 to roll out ‘What’s Best for Lily?’ training and support care homes across London to deliver excellent end of life care for residents.

What can you expect from the resources?

The 11-minute teaching film, titled ‘What’s Best for Lily?’ shows the last months, days and weeks of a resident’s life through the eyes of a care home resident with dementia, her son, and a carer.

This film shows examples of good care and poor care, helping care home staff to think about how they can provide the best end of life care for residents they look after.

Accompanying resources support facilitators to deliver teaching sessions and activities on:

• Recognising gradual and sudden deterioration
• Asking about a resident’s wishes and making a plan of care
• Prompts to review before calling 999
• Supporting loved ones and involving them with care
• Dealing with the death of a resident

Anna Gorringe, UCLPartners End of Life Care Clinical Lead, said: “I’m very excited to see the ‘What’s Best for Lily’ end of life care educational materials launched publicly. I look forward to seeing them have a positive effect on the experience of care for care home residents, those important to them, and care home staff.”