End of Life Planning

Guidelines & References

1: Blinderman CD, Billings JA. Comfort Care for Patients Dying in the Hospital. N
Engl J Med. 2015 Dec 24;373(26):2549-61. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1411746. Review.
PubMed PMID: 26699170.


1: Murray SA, Kendall M, Boyd K, Sheikh A. Illness trajectories and palliative
care. BMJ. 2005 Apr 30;330(7498):1007-11. PubMed PMID: 15860828; PubMed Central
PMCID: PMC557152.


1: Clayton JM, Hancock KM, Butow PN, Tattersall MH, Currow DC; Australian and new
Zealand Expert Advisory Group, Adler J, Aranda S, Auret K, Boyle F, Britton A,
Chye R, Clark K, Davidson P, Davis JM, Girgis A, Graham S, Hardy J, Introna K,
Kearsley J, Kerridge I, Kristjanson L, Martin P, McBride A, Meller A, Mitchell G,
Moore A, Noble B, Olver I, Parker S, Peters M, Saul P, Stewart C, Swinburne L,
Tobin B, Tuckwell K, Yates P; Australasian Society of HIV Medicine; Australian
and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine; Australasian Chapter of
Palliative Medicine; Royal Australasian College of Physicians; Australian College
of Rural and Remote Medicine; Australian General Practice Network; Australian
Society of Geriatric Medicine; Cancer Voices Australia; Cardiac Society of
Australia and New Zealand; Clinical Oncological Soceity of Australia; Motor
Neurone Disease Association of Australia; Palliative Care Australia; Palliative
Care Nurses Australia; Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; Royal
College of Nursing, Australia; Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Clinical practice guidelines for communicating prognosis and end-of-life issues
with adults in the advanced stages of a life-limiting illness, and their
caregivers. Med J Aust. 2007 Jun 18;186(12 Suppl):S77, S79, S83-108. PubMed PMID:
17727340.

The following websites may be useful for practitioners dealing end of life care issues.
End of life care  – essentials for acute care hospitals, e-learning packages coming soon, but podcasts available now http://www.caresearch.com.au/caresearch/tabid/3866/Default.aspx
The Supportive and Palliative Care indicators tool (SPICT) tool, aims’ to identify people at risk of deteriorating and dying with one or more advanced conditions for palliative care needs assessment and care planning.  Their website is a useful resource
http://www.spict.org.uk/
The Gold Standards Framework in the UK have a website (http://www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk/)  that provides a great deal of information around end of life care.  They also have a prognostic indicator tool that may be of use

http://www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk/cdcontent/uploads/files/General%20Files/Prognostic%20Indicator%20Guidance%20October%202011.pdf

‘We have designed a screening tool to minimise the uncertainty of prediction of time of death to facilitate the initiation of honest conversations with dying patients and their caregivers about preferences for end-of-life treatment and more appropriate place of death outside acute hospitals. The “Criteria for Screening and Triaging to Appropriate aLternative care” is the subject of this program of research.’ https://swscs.med.unsw.edu.au/project/validation-cristal-criteria-screening-and-triaging-appropriate-alternative-care.  The tool is still undergoing validation, however the report on the initial development of the screen tool can be found here http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2014/12/09/bmjspcare-2014-000770.full
Palliative Care services in Western Australia have developed a teaching package to assist with CPR and decision making in the hospital setting
http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Advance-CPR-decision-making-in-the-hospital-setting

Thanks for assistance sourcing these resources to Jeanette Lacey, End of Life Care Nurse Practitioner.

To make comments or suggest any changes to this guideline please send your email to perioptalkdesk@gmail.com