End of life care for care home residents

Sixteen percent of all deaths registered in Wales during 2016 took place in a care home. The Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre has been working with care home professionals at all levels as well as specialist palliative care staff across Wales to establish the current picture of end of life care in care homes.  Together we have been working to identify the key challenges to delivering high quality end of life care in care homes. We have found that one of the main issues is the transient nature of care home staff, which makes it difficult to deliver training or to retain a skills base in care homes. This has a direct effect on continuity of care and symptom control. By focusing our research on the greatest areas of need we can ensure maximum benefit to people living in care homes.. Our Survey Report May 2018 outlines the key findings and recommendations for continued improvement.