Aileen Rohan from the INMO library team provides some useful information on end-of-life care

Talking about dying and death is in everybody’s interest as it can help to ensure that everyone gets the care they want, where they want it at the end of their lives. Everybody deserves a ‘good death’ and this is more likely to be achieved by talking about it early on.

Although every individual may have a different idea about what would, for them, constitute a good death, for many this would involve: being treated as an individual, with dignity and respect; being without pain and other symptoms; being in familiar surroundings; and being in the company of close family and/or friends.

Recent national policy initiatives are focusing on the concept of advanced care planning for end-of-life care so as to engage with residents in nursing homes and enable them to live well throughout their end-of-life journey.

End-of-life care is now one of two thematic inspections that are being undertaken nationally by the Social Services Inspectorate of the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA). The Authority has produced several documents for residential setting providers. These emphasise the resident’s right to make informed decisions to ensure that they have the end-of-life care that meets their specific needs and wishes.

This has implications for nursing assessment and care planning and there can be confusions about when to commence and proceed with end-of-life assessment and care planning.

The Professional Development Centre has put together a one-day workshop entitled ‘End-of-life Care Thematic Inspection’, which is aimed at registered nurses working in designated centres for older people. It will focus on the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care to meet the end-of-life care needs of residents. Further information is available on the INMO website (www.inmo.ie) and bookings can be made by phone at Tel: 01-6640641/42.

The library has been receiving more requests for information on end-of-life care from various care settings such as nursing homes and intellectual disability centres. Below are some of the more commonly requested documents, which will be available on the INMO educational website www.nurse2nurse.ie

Important HIQA documents:

• Judgement Framework for Designated Centres for Older People – Thematic Inspections Outcome 14 End-of-Life Care and Thematic Outcome 15 Food and Nutrition
• Regulator Guidance for Residential Services for Older People – End-of-Life Care Requirements
• Provider Self Assessment Questionnaire on End-of-Life Care.

Other relevant documents

• Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme, Irish Hospice Foundation (2008) Endof- Life Care for Older People in Acute and Long-Stay Care Settings in Ireland. Dublin
• Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme (2010) Quality Standards for End-of-Life Care in Hospitals: making end-of-life care central to hospital care. Dublin
• Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (2010) End-of-life care standards for people with dementia. Dublin
• Cahill S, Doran D, Watson M (2012) Guidelines for nursing homes delivering end-of-life care to residents with dementia across the island of Ireland. Quality in Ageing & Older Adults, 13(1), pp. 60-70
• Casey D, Murphy K, Ni Leime A, Larkin P, Paybe S, Froggatt KA, O’Shea E (2011) Dying well: factors that influence the provision of good end-of-life care for older people in acute and long stay care settings in Ireland. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(3/4), pp. 1824-33

Contact the library
The library staff are available from 8.30am-4.45pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am-4pm on Friday. Tel: 01 6640625/614 or email: library@inmo.ie

Library - End-of-life care