Beacons of excellence
On Saturday 11th October 2008, people in more than 70 countries around the world took part in a series of events to mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. Everybody concerned had the same message - that access to hospice and palliative care must be considered a basic human right.
By Jonathan Ellis
Thanks to Dame Cicely Saunders and
the hospice movement, the UK has led way in the provision of hospice and
palliative care and indeed hospices were described as ‘beacons of excellence’
in the Department of Health’s recently published End of Life Care Strategy for
England, which promotes high quality care for all adults at the end of life.
The Strategy, which was warmly
welcomed by Help the Hospices, sets out to raise awareness and improve access
to good quality end of life care, including where people are cared for. While
its intentions are honourable, delivery will no doubt prove a formidable
challenge.
Of course limits on, and competing
priorities, for resources will have an impact on delivery. And access to
provision varies greatly across the country and across the many different types
of care settings. One thing is certain – there is a real need to improve the
knowledge, competence and skills around supporting people at the end of their
lives right across the health and social care system. What is needed, and what
the UK hospice movement is already delivering, is a greater sharing of
information and expertise among professionals across all community settings.
It
is worth remembering that hospices are not just another provider of services
but contribute funding to the delivery of palliative care through the
fundraising efforts of their local communities.
In this respect, voluntary hospices are effectively ‘co-commissioners’
as well as providers of palliative care, offering individuals appropriate
support within the community and preventing avoidable admission to hospitals.
Their key role in the provision of palliative care extends
to sharing specialist
knowledge, providing training and development and supporting their local health
and social care colleagues.
Strong
local partnerships between hospices and Primary Care Trusts are vital if the
ambitious aims of the End of Life Care Strategy are to be met. PCTs will need
to ensure that all staff are equipped and skilled in the provision of
supportive end of life care and many are already benefiting from strong
relationships with hospices, accessing quality training and education and
tapping into the expertise and specialist palliative care knowledge that exists
both on a local and national level.
October
2008 not only marked World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. It also saw the
results of a research study into the relationships between hospices and PCTs
published by the Commission for the Compact in partnership with Help the
Hospices. Entitled Positive
Engagement, Future Practice: Learning for End of Life Care, the study
found that the Compact with the Third Sector (the agreement between the
government and the voluntary sector in England drawn up in 1998) has the
potential to deepen good practice and help strengthen relationships.
Through a series of case studies,
the research focussed on how well the Compact is being implemented in relation
to supportive and palliative care and examined some of the different local
relationships between PCTs and charitable hospices. There were several key
findings, not least the fact that the success of relationships between hospices
and PCTs relies upon constructive and effective personal relationships between
key players.
Close and effective working
relationships are essential if the UK is to continue to lead the way in the
provision of palliative care. The aims of the End of Life Care Strategy while
ambitious, should be welcomed by everyone working within a health and social
care setting and hospices are ideally placed to take a lead role in sharing
knowledge and expertise, delivering training and promoting best practice. The
challenges are great but the long term effects will be greater still.
For so many people around the world,
hospice and palliative care is simply non-existent. As we remember that, let us
continue to work together to ensure that we not only meet the aims of the End
of Life Care Strategy but also that we continue to set standards on a global
level.
Jonathan Ellis
is Director of Public Policy and Parliamentary Affairs at
Help the
Hospices: www.helpthehospices.org.uk