End of life care
End of life care support for people who are in the last stage of their life.
End of life is considered to be the last twelve months of a person’s life, as well as their last few days or weeks of life.
End of life care includes helping people to live as well as possible until they die, supporting people in making decisions about the last months of their life and ensuring that they die with dignity. It also includes support for their family and/or carers.
How we are improving end of life care
As part of Healthier Together, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB lead a group of professionals from across healthcare providers, carers organisations, local hospices and clinicians who aim to meet the local needs around end of life care.
- there are a range of services available in the community that are provided by Sirona Care & Health.
- we have a clear way of monitoring our contracts with local healthcare providers.
- we have a contract with the cancer charity Marie Curie to provide a respite sitting service for patients and their families.
- we work collaboratively with the local hospices aligning our services to ensure the delivery of quality care.
- we have clinical leads funded by Macmillan Cancer Care.
Key priorities for end of life care
We want to improve coordination and communication for and between professionals, patients and carers/family about end of life care. We aim to provide accessible information and education for patients, professionals and carers/family. Our aim is to empower patients to make informed decisions at the end of their life.
Useful links
- Age UK provides comprehensive information about end of life planning such as making a will and power of attorney.
- Dying Matters is a national organisation which aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life.
- Macmillan cancer care provides support and information at the end of life and through bereavement from cancer.
- St Peters Hospice is a Bristol charity caring for adults with life-limiting illnesses.
- Weston Hospice Care provides palliative care for people living with a life-limiting illness in Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding areas.