New resource supports people and communities to influence local health plans on end of life care
Hospice UK has released a new resource aimed at supporting people and communities to work with Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) to achieve excellent end of life care locally.
Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) are part of the new way in which local NHS organisations and councils are working together in England to improve NHS services and outcomes for people in their area. They are not statutory organisations, but local partnerships, with 44 of them covering the whole of England. They are developing plans to improve people’s health and wellbeing, care and quality and better use of resources through partnership working and harnessing new technologies.
You can access the resource at www.hospiceuk.org.uk
Caring for people as they approach the end of their lives, and making sure they and the people important to them are supported, is a core part of the work of our health and care services. With over 500,000 people dying each year in England and millions more being bereaved as a result, it’s essential that end of life care is fully considered and that every STP takes steps to improve the care and support available for people.
The resource is designed to be easy to use and provides practical information about the things that people and their communities can do to support the development and implementation of the local plans.
The resource also suggests some questions to put to STP leads and local leaders about end of life care in your area, and signposts to the Government’s National Commitment on End of Life Care and the Ambitions Framework for Palliative and End of Life Care as two key documents that can help STP leads and others local leaders decide their priorities.
The resource was developed in partnership with NHS England.
Relevant Links
- Read Healthwatch Birmingham’s Briefing on STPs, which includes more information about the plans and what it means for patients and the public here
- Healthwatch Birmingham reflects on the publication of the Birmingham and Solihull Sustainability and Transformation Plan
- What’s happening with local STPs? Our comments in February 2017 on the progress of STP discussions