Conversations about spirituality, culture and faith may generate anxiety in health and social care professionals, due to a lack of knowledge or cultural understanding (Choudry, Latif & Warburton, 2018. Clin Med. 18: 23). The local population comprises a significantly lower representation of both ethnic minority groups and religious groups than the national average despite a doubling of ethnic minority populations over the last decade (Office for National Statistics, 2019). Locally, a new end of life strategy has been implemented with the aim of ensuring that staff are prepared to care (Northern Lincolnshire End of Life Partnership, 2021).

Aims To implement an innovative approach to training to increase knowledge and understanding of cultural and faith issues at end of life across health and social care that met needs of approximately 3000 professionals.

A consistent and sustainable approach to training was adopted using Health Education England’s ‘End of Life Learning Outcomes’ (2019). We brought together a diverse range of local faith leaders for a roundtable discussion of the experience of death and dying from their different point of views with a focus on how health and social care professionals could enhance patients’ end of life experiences (Loike, Gillick, Mayer, et al., 2010. J Palliat Med. 13: 1267). This discussion was filmed in the format of a training video as a resource for all health and social care professionals. Adopting this innovative approach maximised the opportunity for learning from a diverse range of religious and non-religious groups. The training video is integrated into the bespoke Northern Lincolnshire End of Life Learning Pathway that was launched in April 2022 and forms part of demonstrating competency in meeting faith and cultural needs at end of life.