The Kirklees and Calderdale EOL Training and Education group were successful in a bid for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Excellence Centre funding in order to develop targeted end of life care training and education across care homes in Kirklees and Calderdale. A comprehensive workbook was developed and launched in October 2018, supported by two best practice events. The uptake and interest in the care home workbook has been enormous, with over 100 attendees at the best practice event in Kirklees and 45 attendees at a follow up event held in April 2019. Local CQC managers were keynote speakers at both launch events and have continued to champion the workbook.

The purpose of the workbook is to increase knowledge and awareness of good practice. Local and national information points to the need for earlier identification and pro-active care for people in the last year of life; given that end of life care spans many care settings and sectors. Age UK’s End of Life Evidence Review (2013) identifies the need for adequate training and education for care homes.

The workbook was delivered by a collaborative group with involvement from Kirkwood Hospice, Overgate Hospice, Kirklees Council, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust and Locala CIC. It was piloted with local care homes.

600 copies of the workbook have been printed so far, with care homes also accessing the resource online. The provision of targeted care home training and education has allowed for local expertise and knowledge to be shared with staff that may not necessarily have engaged with traditional training and education opportunities in the past.

Feedback from those who have completed the workbook indicates staff feel more competent in recognising and dealing with issues such as pain and symptom management but equally importantly, also feel empowered to access local supportive services.