SG Strategic Framework for Action

Update: May 2018

National Implementation Advisory Group

The National Implementation Group (NIAG) met most recently on 27^th April 2018.

Improvement (Commitment 1)

This programme is being led by/situated in the Living Well in Communities arm of HIS (iHub). Updates about this workstream are available on the Living Well in Communities website.

The 5 HSCPs where tests of change will take place are East Ayrshire, Glasgow City, Perth and Kinross, Dundee City and Fife. Local improvement Advisors have been appointed local projects have been identified. Sites are currently identifying and planning small scale tests of change for implementation over the summer.

Western Isles/ Eilean Siar will be focussing on developing approaches to strategic commissioning.

A resource was published comparing different tools to support the identification of people with palliative care needs. An associated event is planned for May.

The final report on this workstream is scheduled for March 2019.

Guidance to HSCPs on Strategic Commissioning of Palliative Care (Commitment 2)

The Scottish Government has published Strategic Commissioning of Palliative and End of Life Care by Integration Authorities. It is an advice note, prepared to support existing statutory guidance on strategic commissioning plans and localities guidance.

Education (Commitment 3)

The Education Framework has been finalised and published. A resource to support implementation of the “Informed” level of the framework is being produced by NES and SSSC. Funding for this workstream ended in March.

Some work will continue through embedding in SSSC work plans, and positioning of palliative and end of life care with other workstreams eg dementia.

There is active exploration of how the ECHO approach can be used to support education and knowledge sharing.

An evaluation of the workstream is planned for completion by March 2019.

Palliative Care for Babies, Children & Young People (Commitment 4)

Following a stakeholder workshop in February 2018 a business case is being developed in collaboration with SG and NHS National Service Scotland to establish a national managed clinical network, benefiting from NHS NSS’s National Network Management Service.

Research (Commitment 5)

The next meeting of the Palliative and End of Life Care Research Forum is on 16 May 2018. A proposal has been made to Scottish Government to provide resource to support the development of the network.

Support greater public and personal discussion of bereavement, death, dying and care at the end of life (Commitment 6)

The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief have published a new report looking at how to encourage more supportive attitudes and behaviours relating to death, dying and bereavement in Scotland.

A Road Less Lonely, Moving forward with public health approaches to death, dying and bereavement in Scotland explores some of the different areas that can shape people’s experiences of death, dying and bereavement. It focuses particularly on:

• Death education and bereavement support in schools.
• Workplace culture and policies.
• The role of communities.
• The practicalities of planning ahead for deteriorating health and death.
• Personal skills and knowledge relating to death, dying and bereavement.
• Mass media campaigns.
• Socio-economic disadvantage.
• Funeral poverty.
• Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, Scotland’s public health palliative care alliance.

This report highlights a wide range of projects and initiatives ongoing in Scotland and further afield that are relevant to improving people’s experiences of death, dying and bereavement. It illustrates that Scotland there is a huge amount of enthusiasm, skills, knowledge and resources relating to public health approaches to death, dying and bereavement.

A Road Less Lonely also suggests a range of steps that could be taken to move forward this area of work, illustrating that relevant action can be taken by a range of different types of organisations, across a variety of domains.

The report was launched at SPPC’s Everyday Compassion conference exploring how to encourage open and supportive attitudes and behaviours relating to death, dying and bereavement in Scotland which took place on 25^th April. Speaker slides are available on the SPPC website, and and audio recordings of presentations will be available in due course.

eHealth to Support ACP sharing (Commitment 7)

A workshop to start to consider broad parameters for a new eHealth system to support ACP and replace KIS took place on 18^th January 2018. The event focussed on developing “personas” – profiles of typical users (public and professional) whose needs would shape the development of the new system. The project has committed to wider communication and engagement as work progresses.

Clinical and health economic evaluations of palliative and end of life care models (Commitment 8 )

This commitment seems likely to be informed by work on the commitments relating to strategic commissioning, research and data.

Data (Commitment 9)

A 2018-19 workplan by ISD for the development of analyses and addressing current data gaps was presented at the NIAG on 27^th April 2018. A draft of the plan was circulated for comment to SPPC group members.

Bereavement

A workshop to review palliative care and bereavement content on NHS Inform is currently being planned by NHS 24.