Death is something that will touch all of us at sometime in our lives, the death of a loved one, people close to us and indeed our own death. The end of life experience can often be frightening, baffling and isolating as the dying person and their loved ones attempt to get the best possible medical care, support and advice to meet their particular needs.
End of life should be important to us all, although it is difficult to define, as it varies for each individual, but typically people become frailer, less mobile and their symptoms and treatments increase.
To make sure best possible care happens, we are developing ways of working that:
How we care for the dying has been described as ‘a measure of society as a whole’ by the National End of Life Care Strategy.
In Sheffield there is a range of high quality specialist end of life care services and generalists that support end of life care. Through the publication of our local End of Life Care Strategy, NHS Sheffield and our care providers are aiming to address the barriers in Sheffield that prevent people from dying in the place of their preference.
NHS SheffieldCCG’s Commissioning Manager (Active Ageing, Cancer, End of Life Care & Long Term Conditions) - Karen Danvers