Abstract

Around 500 000 people die in England each year. The vast majority (around 99%) of deaths occur in adults over the age of 18 years. Most deaths occur in people over 65 years and this group is expected to increase in numbers over the next decade as our population ages. The Improving supportive & palliative care for adults with cancer (National Institute for Clinical Excellence 2004) defined service models required to ensure that people with cancer, their families and other carers receive support to help them cope with cancer and its treatment. In response to this, NHS South of Tyne and Wear (Organisation's name predating Transforming Community Services) developed a set of standards adopting a coordination model. This was developed as an alternative to Gold Standards Framework. The standards support the delivery of high quality end of life care in the care home setting; ensuring people living in a care home with ANY condition (including older frail and illnesses other than cancer) will receive the best quality care in the last 12 months of life. These standards have been developed to reflect national end of life publications and to ensure local recommendations are aligned with national guidance. Set of six standards mapped against EoL care strategy quality markers for care homes and National EoL Care programme's route to success for care homes. Furthermore, they complement the locally-owned document supportive and palliative care standards for end of life in the primary care setting and compliment the MPET funded training programme with care home staff. Process:

• Care Home agrees to participate and nominates key worker(s)

• Baseline self assessment completed

• Identify areas for improvement/change

• Interim review and supported development of an action plan

• Period to implement improvement/change.

• Collection of evidence to support changes

• Verification/accreditation.