A practice development initiative supporting care home staff deliver high quality end-of-life care.

BACKGROUND: The global population is changing with an increasing percentage of the oldest old, many of whom in the UK are looked after in care homes. Care homes now provide care for a fifth of the UK population who die each year. However, most nursing care homes are privately owned and not part of the NHS, which exposes staff to a lack of skills/knowledge in relation to end-of-life care.

METHODS: To implement the Gold Standards Framework in Care Homes Programme and audit outcomes within nursing care homes across five Clinical Commissioning Groups over a 7-year period using a research-based model of facilitation.

RESULTS: The percentage of residents dying in nursing care homes increased from 57% to 79%, with improvement in other outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: A 'high' facilitation model, including a sustainability initiative and ongoing audit, contributed to significant improvements when implementing the Programme. Reciprocity and trustworthiness underpin the success of this initiative.