Action 5.20

The consensus statement sets out suggested practice for health service organisations delivering end-of-life care in settings that provide acute health care. It describes 10 essential elements of care.

Use the actions described in the first essential element of the consensus statement and in the Partnering with Consumers Standard to guide the development of processes to support clinicians to work collaboratively with patients, carers and families, and make shared decisions about end-of-life care.

The patient and the clinical team are essential participants in discussions and decision-making about care at the end of life. Include substitute decision-makers, carers and families according to the patient’s wishes and state or territory legislative frameworks. More information about advance care planning in each state and territory is available from the Advance Care Planning Australian website.

Having conversations about death, dying and the end of life requires compassion, knowledge, experience, sensitivity and skill on the part of the clinicians involved. Provide orientation, education and training for clinicians to understand their individual roles, responsibilities and accountabilities in working with patients, carers and families to make shared decisions about end-of-life care. This may include developing peer support and mentoring programs to help clinicians practise and improve their skills over time. Training, education and mentoring programs should be consistent with the actions described in the consensus statement, and may need to cover several processes and skills, such as:

• Using organisational shared decision-making processes
• Supporting shared decision making in patients with fluctuating capacity
• Strengthening communication skills and preparing for discussions about end-of-life care
• Developing cultural competence
• Providing information about organ and tissue donation
• Documenting the outcome of shared decision-making processes.

Many states and territories have strategies and resources in place to support efforts to improve end-of-life care. Refer to these when planning improvements within the health service organisation.

The consensus statement sets out suggested practice for health service organisations delivering end-of-life care in settings that provide acute health care. It describes 10 essential elements of care.

It is unlikely that day procedure services will be providing care to patients in the last days of life because of the nature of the service and pre-admission screening. However, some procedures may be appropriate for patients in the last year of life. Therefore, day procedure services need to have communication processes for clinicians and patients to make decisions together in the patient’s best interests, based on the best scientific evidence available, the realities of the patient’s clinical condition and treatment options, and the patient’s choices, values and preferences.

Use the actions described in the first essential element of the consensus statement and in the Partnering with Consumers Standard to guide the development of processes to support clinicians to work collaboratively with patients, carers and families, and make shared decisions about appropriate end-of-life care.

A series of online education modules based on the consensus statement and targeted at clinicians is available from the End-of-Life Essentials website.

The consensus statement sets out suggested practice for health service organisations delivering end-of-life care in settings that provide acute health care. It describes 10 essential elements of care.

Use the actions described in the first essential element of the consensus statement and in the Partnering with Consumers Standard to guide the development of processes to support clinicians to work collaboratively with patients, carers and families, and make shared decisions about end-of-life care.

The patient and the clinical team are essential participants in discussions and decision-making about care at the end of life. Include substitute decision-makers, carers and families according to the patient’s wishes and state or territory legislative frameworks. More information about advance care planning in each state and territory is available from the Advance Care Planning Australian website.

Having conversations about death, dying and the end of life requires compassion, knowledge, experience, sensitivity and skill on the part of the clinicians involved. Provide orientation, education and training for clinicians to understand their individual roles, responsibilities and accountabilities in working with patients, carers and families to make shared decisions about end-of-life care. This may include developing peer support and mentoring programs to help clinicians practise and improve their skills over time. Training, education and mentoring programs should be consistent with the actions described in the consensus statement, and may need to cover several processes and skills, such as:

• Using organisational shared decision-making processes
• Supporting shared decision making in patients with fluctuating capacity
• Strengthening communication skills and preparing for discussions about end-of-life care
• Developing cultural competence
• Providing information about organ and tissue donation
• Documenting the outcome of shared decision-making processes.

Many states and territories have strategies and resources in place to support efforts to improve end-of-life care. Refer to these when planning improvements within the health service organisation.