Health professionals to get more training on end of life care in Wales

The Welsh Government has launched its ‘Delivering End of Life Care’ plan ensuring families and professionals work together to plan for the end of life and that people are well-supported, wherever they choose to die.

The plan sets out the Welsh Government’s expectations of NHS Wales, and its partners, to make end of life care consistently good across the country. Specific aims of the plan include improving training for health professionals delivering end of life care in the community, developing the skills required to support people wherever they choose to die. The plan will also seek to improve communication skills to enable discussions about the end of life with individuals and their families.

Health Minster for Wales, Mark Drakeford said: “How well we care for our dying reflects how we care as a society.

“Maintaining the dignity of an individual in their last days of life is vital. It can be done, by having open and honest conversations about the end of life and providing support to people and their families to plan for the end of life.”

He added that: “inequalities at the end of life are as unacceptable as inequalities in life. Good quality end of life care must be available where ever and whenever an individual dies, taking into account their wishes.”

Simon Jones, head of policy and public affairs for Marie Curie Cancer Care in Wales, welcomed the Welsh Government’s plan on palliative care in Wales, and said: “We are particularly pleased with the emphasis on providing palliative care via integrated working between the NHS, local government and third sector providers, which will allow terminally ill patients easier access to the care they need.

“Marie Curie is currently working alongside health boards across Wales on a number of integrated care service projects, which shows a positive contribution towards the Welsh Government’s vision on palliative care in Wales.”

Susan Morris, general manager for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales, echoed this sentiment and added: “Macmillan welcomes the Welsh Government’s new End of Life Care Delivery Plan, the first comprehensive strategy on end of life care in Wales.

“Although 49 per cent per cent of people are now surviving cancer for more than five years, sadly it is still the disease which leads to the most deaths in the UK.

“We hope that this plan will lead to an improvement in the quality and consistency of palliative and end of life care across Wales.”

Eve Richardson, chief executive of the Dying Matters Coalition and the National Council for Palliative Care also expressed her delight over the plans and said: “All of us benefit by talking about end of life issues and making our wishes known to our loved ones and those who care for us. That’s why at the Dying Matters Coalition we’re looking forward to extending our work to support our partners in Wales so that more people feel able to talk about end of life issues and put their plans in place.”

The plan builds on the achievements of the Palliative Care Implementation Board, which include ensuring every Health Board can access specialist palliative care 24 hours a day seven days a week, delivering education programmes for GPs and nursing home staff and ensuring care pathways put the views of the patient and their relatives at the centre of care.