The Transforming End of Life Care Team at University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is comprised of Clinical Nurse Specialists, a lead senior nurse, project manager, consultant in Specialist Palliative Care and quality improvement fellow (a doctor).
Together we strive to ensure that all patients and those close to them receive high-quality, personalised care during all stages of any life-threatening illness, including the last days of life. We support staff to work as a team to deliver this care with kindness and compassion in order to maximise comfort and well-being.
We do this by:
- Educating staff at all levels about identifying someone entering the last days of their life and how to support and provide high quality care for these patients.
- Supporting patients in their last days of life, as well as those who are close to them. For more information please see this leaflet: Care in the last days of life
- Offering space and time to debrief about the emotional impact on staff
- Providing support calls for the recently bereaved. For more information for relatives, see the leaflet Information following a bereavement.
- Offering the SWAN model of care to highlight to the wider team on the ward that this is a sensitive time for you and your loved ones.
General enquiries
Other contact information
SWAN Outreach Service
07966774223
Address
Transforming End of Life Care Team
3rd Floor East
250 Euston Road
London, NW1 2PG
- Clinical service to provide daily reviews for patients deemed to be in the last days of life.
- Provide support for Advance Care Planning conversations.
- Facilitation of discharges towards the end of life, including liasing with community services.
- Working closely alongside the Specialist Palliative Care team to co-ordinate support for patients, those closest to them and the staff providing care.
We provide education and mentoring in the following areas:
- How to recognise patients who may be in the last year of life
- How to have compassionate conversations with patients and those important to them in order to develop a shared understanding of their goals and wishes for their care.
- How to use Treatment Escalation Plans (TEPs) to record which treatments would be helpful if a patient becomes increasingly unwell in hospital. A TEP aims to ensure that a patient receives the best possible treatment for their individual circumstances.
- How to use the “Excellent Care in the Last Days of Life” documents to create a personalised care plan.
- Raising awareness of the new London-wide Urgent Care Plan (UCP). This allows a personalised care plan to be created online and shared securely between healthcare professionals across London.