National end of life care for adults

National end of life care programme : improving National end of life care for adults

The National End of Life Care (EoLC) Programme, launched in 2004, aims to increase individuals' choice over where they wish to live and die. It supports the UK Department of Health 'End of Life Care Strategy'. In 'Our health, our care, our say' (February 2006), the government recognised the need for additional investment to improve end of life care and the need for proper training to look after dying patients and their carers. The initial focus of the EoLC Programme was on raising awareness and helping to expand the use of end of life care tools such as Preferred Priorities for Care, Gold Standards Framework, Liverpool Care Pathway and other locally developed tools. The launch of the End of Life Care Strategy (July 2008) has changed the role of the EoLC Programme. Having helped to establish the foundations of good practice, the Programme is now, in collaboration with key stakeholders, supporting local providers in implementing the new strategy.