Action 5.19 states
The health service organisation has processes for routinely reviewing the safety and quality of end-of-life care that is provided against the planned goals of care
Intent
Patients receive safe and high-quality end-of-life care.
Reflective questions
What data are collected about the safety and quality of end-of-life care in the health service organisation?
How are these data reviewed to ensure that they align with planned goals of care for the patient?
Key task
Implement processes for evaluating the safety and quality of end-of-life care.
Strategies for improvement
Hospitals
Ensure that evaluation of end-of-life care addresses the safety and quality of the care provided, not just the potential preventability of death. This includes reviewing whether end-of-life care is delivered in line with the planned goals of care.
Capture feedback about the safety and quality of end-of-life care from different perspectives, including nurses, doctors, allied health clinicians, patients, substitute decision-makers, carers and families. Work with clinicians to decide on meaningful measures of the safety and quality of end-of-life care in the health service organisation, such as:
- The number of expected and unexpected deaths
- Rates of documented patient goals and preferences for end-of-life care
- The length of time between recognising that a patient was likely to die and the time of death
- Adequacy of assessment and management of terminal symptoms
- Rates of clinical intervention (for example, chemotherapy, dialysis, diagnostic testing, antibiotic use) in the last days of life
- The number of advance care plans received and developed
- Carer and family perceptions and experiences of end-of-life care
- Workforce perceptions and experiences of providing end-of-life care.
Develop strategies for routine data collection about safety and quality relating to both expected and unexpected deaths, and the delivery of comprehensive care at the end of life. This may include using sources such as consumer experience data and health service administration data, and processes such as mortality and morbidity meetings.
Palliative Care Australia’s Palliative Care Self Assessment (PaCSA) has patient and family evaluation tools for health service organisations to use:
Health services that submit their results via the PaCSA online portal, will be able to download a report that can be used as evidence to support this action.
The Commission has developed an End-of-Life Audit Toolkit to help assess the overall safety and quality of end-of-life care in the organisation. More information is available on the End-of-life care section of the website.
Day Procedure Services
This action will not be applicable for most day procedure services. It is unlikely that day procedure services will be providing care to patients at the end of life because of the nature of the service and pre-admission screening.
Refer to the hospital tab for detailed implementation strategies and examples of evidence for this action.
MPS & Small Hospitals
Ensure that evaluation of end-of-life care addresses the safety and quality of the care provided, not just the potential preventability of death. This includes reviewing whether end-of-life care is delivered in line with the planned goals of care.
Capture feedback about the safety and quality of end-of-life care from different perspectives, including nurses, doctors, allied health clinicians, patients, substitute decision-makers, carers and families. Work with clinicians to decide on meaningful measures of the safety and quality of end-of-life care in the health service organisation, such as:
- The number of expected and unexpected deaths
- Rates of documented patient goals and preferences for end-of-life care
- The length of time between recognising that a patient was likely to die and the time of death
- Adequacy of assessment and management of terminal symptoms
- Rates of clinical intervention (for example, chemotherapy, dialysis, diagnostic testing, antibiotic use) in the last days of life
- The number of advance care plans received and developed
- Carer and family perceptions and experiences of end-of-life care
- Workforce perceptions and experiences of providing end-of-life care.
Develop strategies for routine data collection about safety and quality relating to both expected and unexpected deaths, and the delivery of comprehensive care at the end of life. This may include using sources such as consumer experience data and health service administration data, and processes such as mortality and morbidity meetings.
Palliative Care Australia’s Palliative Care Self Assessment (PaCSA) has patient and family evaluation tools for health service organisations to use:
Health services that submit their results via the PaCSA online portal, will be able to download a report that can be used as evidence to support this action.
The Commission has developed an End-of-Life Audit Toolkit to help assess the overall safety and quality of end-of-life care in the organisation. More information is available on the End-of-life care section of the website.
Hospitals
Ensure that evaluation of end-of-life care addresses the safety and quality of the care provided, not just the potential preventability of death. This includes reviewing whether end-of-life care is delivered in line with the planned goals of care.
Capture feedback about the safety and quality of end-of-life care from different perspectives, including nurses, doctors, allied health clinicians, patients, substitute decision-makers, carers and families. Work with clinicians to decide on meaningful measures of the safety and quality of end-of-life care in the health service organisation, such as:
- The number of expected and unexpected deaths
- Rates of documented patient goals and preferences for end-of-life care
- The length of time between recognising that a patient was likely to die and the time of death
- Adequacy of assessment and management of terminal symptoms
- Rates of clinical intervention (for example, chemotherapy, dialysis, diagnostic testing, antibiotic use) in the last days of life
- The number of advance care plans received and developed
- Carer and family perceptions and experiences of end-of-life care
- Workforce perceptions and experiences of providing end-of-life care.
Develop strategies for routine data collection about safety and quality relating to both expected and unexpected deaths, and the delivery of comprehensive care at the end of life. This may include using sources such as consumer experience data and health service administration data, and processes such as mortality and morbidity meetings.
Palliative Care Australia’s Palliative Care Self Assessment (PaCSA) has patient and family evaluation tools for health service organisations to use:
Health services that submit their results via the PaCSA online portal, will be able to download a report that can be used as evidence to support this action.
The Commission has developed an End-of-Life Audit Toolkit to help assess the overall safety and quality of end-of-life care in the organisation. More information is available on the End-of-life care section of the website.
Day Procedure Services
This action will not be applicable for most day procedure services. It is unlikely that day procedure services will be providing care to patients at the end of life because of the nature of the service and pre-admission screening.
Refer to the hospital tab for detailed implementation strategies and examples of evidence for this action.
MPS & Small Hospitals
Ensure that evaluation of end-of-life care addresses the safety and quality of the care provided, not just the potential preventability of death. This includes reviewing whether end-of-life care is delivered in line with the planned goals of care.
Capture feedback about the safety and quality of end-of-life care from different perspectives, including nurses, doctors, allied health clinicians, patients, substitute decision-makers, carers and families. Work with clinicians to decide on meaningful measures of the safety and quality of end-of-life care in the health service organisation, such as:
- The number of expected and unexpected deaths
- Rates of documented patient goals and preferences for end-of-life care
- The length of time between recognising that a patient was likely to die and the time of death
- Adequacy of assessment and management of terminal symptoms
- Rates of clinical intervention (for example, chemotherapy, dialysis, diagnostic testing, antibiotic use) in the last days of life
- The number of advance care plans received and developed
- Carer and family perceptions and experiences of end-of-life care
- Workforce perceptions and experiences of providing end-of-life care.
Develop strategies for routine data collection about safety and quality relating to both expected and unexpected deaths, and the delivery of comprehensive care at the end of life. This may include using sources such as consumer experience data and health service administration data, and processes such as mortality and morbidity meetings.
Palliative Care Australia’s Palliative Care Self Assessment (PaCSA) has patient and family evaluation tools for health service organisations to use:
Health services that submit their results via the PaCSA online portal, will be able to download a report that can be used as evidence to support this action.
The Commission has developed an End-of-Life Audit Toolkit to help assess the overall safety and quality of end-of-life care in the organisation. More information is available on the End-of-life care section of the website.