End of Life Care Strategy
The RCGP End of Life Care Strategy will lead the way in
defining, enabling and pioneering good practice in end of life
care, reflecting the crucial role that GPs play in end of life care
now and in the future.
Caring for people nearing the end of
their lives is part of the core
business of General Practice.
The GP and the primary care team occupy a
central role in the delivery of end of life care in the community.
This role is greatly valued by patients and remains pivotal to the
effective provision of all other care. Care of the dying is a
litmus test for the health service, and challenges general practice
to respond with the best that the profession has to offer -
clinical expertise, considered professionalism, personalised care
and human compassion. The importance of the holistic role of the
family doctor is poised to come into its own in a way never
previously encountered.
As a society we face a challenge in
healthcare needs never previously encountered.
Dramatically changing demographic profiles
mean more people are living longer with serious illnesses, with
more protracted end of life and dying stages. Current health and
social care services are ill prepared and unready to fully meet the
needs of the majority of those approaching the end of their
life.
Despite recent developments and many
areas of good practice, patients still face a lottery of
inconsistent, sometimes sub-optimal care.
As illness patterns change with increasing
multiple morbidities, and as patients and their families seek
trusted ‘companions on the journey’, no-one is better suited to
provide excellence of care than the GP and the primary care team.
GPs are ideally placed to meet this challenge, but must be
supported to do this.
End of Life Care is a matter of life
and death.
While other demands on the GPs time and energy
will come and go, the stark fact of our mortality will remain the
same. End of Life Care is a complex area, fraught with practical
difficulties and beset by ethical dilemmas. We have a
responsibility to our patients to get it right first time - there
are no second chances. Our aim is that high quality care for people
nearing the end of their life becomes the legacy of this, the baby
boom generation, a legacy that we will all benefit from personally
and with our patients.
About the Author
Professor Keri Thomas is Clinical Champion for End of Life
Care. More information on Professor Thomas, and other
achievements she has made in her role as Clinical Champion, can be
found on her Clinical Champion profile page.
circ@rcgp.org.uk
0203 170 8231