Based on care delivered from January to December 2024, this report from the National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) found that 83% of deaths were expected by clinical staff during the final admission and, of these, 84% had an individualised plan of care addressing their needs at the end of life.
73% of bereaved people rated the overall care and support given to themselves and others by the hospital as excellent or good
It also found that 97% of hospital providers have access to specialist palliative care services. Yet, of those providers, 61% have access to a face-to-face specialist palliative care service (nurse and/or doctor) 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. As such, the report recommends that services provide specialist palliative medical and nursing cover face-to-face, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week in addition to a 24-hour, 7 days a week, telephone advice service.
Other key findings include:
- 77% of bereaved people agreed that the dying person received sufficient pain relief during their final hospital admission
- 62% of clinical notes contained evidence of communication about hydration with those important to the dying person, or a reason recorded why not.
In addition to further key findings, this report contains five recommendations for improvement relating to:
- Hospital improvement plans
- Access to specialist palliative care services
- Personalised care and support planning
- Equitable care
- Training and support.
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