Gold Standards Framework

Gold Standards Framework is a systematic evidence based approach to optimising the care for patients nearing the end of life delivered by generalist providers. It is concerned with helping people to live well until the end of life and includes care in the final years of life for people with any end stage illness in any setting.

The gold standards framework is in use by a number of GP practices in Bristol. For further information, please access the GSF NHS website:

www.goldstandardsframework.nhs.uk/

You can also directly access the  Summary of Palliative Care Patients proforma

National End of Life Care Strategy (2008)

In 2008 the Department of Health release a national strategy for end of life care. The strategy sets out key priorities in supporting patients to achieve a good death. Among these priorities are the need for identification of patients approaching the end of life; care planning according to the needs and wishes of the patient; coordination of care throughout the care pathway to support the wishes of the patient; rapid access to care on a 24/7 basis; and availability of good information for all stakeholders in end of life care.

The national end of life care strategy

South West Strategic Ambitions

The South West strategic framework for improving health 2008/09 – 2010/11, was released in 2008. This contains ambitions for the South West to achieve in several key strategic areas, which includes end of life care. The strategic framework includes the following ambitions for achievement in end of life care:

• Ensuring that people can access at all times the “basic building blocks” for effective care (community nursing, equipment, drugs and the patient plan) by March 2011.
• Ensuring through responding to individual preferences, adult deaths in acute hospitals reduce by 10% for each year for the next three years.
• Ensuring that through providing support at home, unplanned admissions to hospital from nursing homes in the last 12 months of life reduce by 10% per annum (from the 2007/2008 baseline) in each of the next 3 years.
• Ensuring that arrangements are in place to support carers.
• All health communities to be able by 31st March 2011 to identify the number of people with a plan for their death and to report the percentage of cases where the preference about place of death has been delivered.

The South West strategic framework for improving health 2008/09-2010/11