Have your say on Sheffield’s end of life care services

 

Fill out the survey here.

 

NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Macmillan Cancer Support and Sheffield Hallam University are coming together to improve services and care for people at the end of their lives.

In order to understand what the current issues and requirements for these services are, people are being asked to share their experiences of end of life care in a survey. Anyone can complete the survey, including people currently receiving end of life care, as well as carers, relatives, partners and friends who have experienced any aspect end of life care.

Although it varies for everyone, end of life care typically begins when people are within the last twelve months of their lives after a terminal diagnosis. People with incurable illnesses such as advanced cancer, heart failure, strokes, neurological conditions and dementia are among the most likely to receive end of life care.

During this time, health, social care and charity services work together to help people live as well as possible until they die, and to die with dignity.

Currently a range of end of life care services are commissioned by NHS Sheffield CCG, including, but not limited to, beds and hospice support, nursing support teams, counselling and bereavement services, training for GPs, management of pain and GP support in care homes. Charities including St Luke’s Hospice, Western Park Hospital, Marie Curie, Cavendish Cancer Care and Macmillan help to deliver all of these services and more.

Conducted by the CCG and Sheffield Hallam University as an independent body, this new research is being funded by Macmillan. The feedback gathered from the survey and other research will help develop a plan to improve these services and better meet the needs of people in receipt of end of life care.

Dr Anthony Gore, Sheffield GP and Clinical Lead for NHS Sheffield CCG said: “The level of end of life care for our city is good, but we want to make it even better.

“It can be a difficult thing to talk about, but we really want to start a bigger conversation around end of life care. By taking the time to tell us your feedback and experiences, both good and bad, we can make sure we are developing services that work for everyone.

“How someone wants to spend their last days is different depending on your background, your culture, your beliefs, and many other things. That’s why it’s important for us to hear from as many people as possible.

“The one thing we can all agree on is that everyone should die with dignity - how we care for people at the end of their lives is a measure of our society, and we only get one chance to get it right. Please help us take everything into account by sharing your thoughts and ideas in the survey.”

 

Have your say

If you are currently receiving end of life care or are a carer, relative, partner or friend who has experiences of end of life care services, please visit http://bit.ly/shefflife. The survey will be open until 8 March 2019.