Supporting staff who deliver end of life care

To mark Dying Matters Week, we hear from Orpha Billie, Registered Manager at Tempnur Care, on how best to support staff who deliver end of life care. Orpha has worked at a hospice, within the NHS as an oncology nurse and sister, and has a master’s degree in supportive and palliative care.

Adult social care providers are often involved in delivering end of life care to individuals and their families. For staff, this can be an emotionally challenging and difficult time, meaning that how we support our teams is a crucial consideration if we want them to remain happy and effective.

End of life care brings both rewards and challenges. While it offers an opportunity to enhance quality of life and leave a positive impact on those close to the supported person, it also presents obstacles such as communication barriers and the stigma surrounding death. Additionally, care staff may silently deal with grief, underscoring the importance of robust support systems.

So, what are the best types of support that we can offer to staff who are involved in end of life care?

Ensuring that our staff receive high-quality training to deliver end of life care is paramount, as this is what they will rely on to deliver exceptional care while managing the emotionally challenging aspects of their job.

Effective end of life training should cover communication, emphasising plain language, body language awareness, and active listening. Supervision with the manager in practice and mentorship sessions can also help normalise discussions around death and foster a supportive environment. We’ve found monthly group supervision meetings, supplemented by external supervisors, offer opportunities for debriefing and experience sharing, which can enhance staff preparedness.

Understanding care plans and their implementation is crucial, making sure staff are trained to escalate support needs promptly where needed. In addition to training, staff should be encouraged to communicate effectively with families, explaining the stages of the dying process when necessary.

Clear guidance, typically in the form of policy and procedure, is critical if you want staff to act in the most effective way. A detailed end of life policy should be in place, ensuring staff have guidelines to follow in their practice. At Tempnur Care, our policies are aligned with current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Leadership Alliance. These policies emphasise essential priorities in end of life care, including recognition, communication, involvement, support, and planning.

By providing our staff with thorough training and clear guidance that is aligned with best practise, we not only ensure that care is of the highest standard, but also reduce any stress or worry that could be caused by unclear expectations or performance anxiety within their job.

To enable our staff to manage the emotional challenges associated with end of life care, one-to-one support from mental health practitioners is made available for staff every six months, or sooner upon request. We facilitate regular talking forums that offer psychological support for distressed staff with supervisor and outside professional help, such as from an end of life care trainer.

We also believe collaborating with other organisations who are involved in end of life care can be helpful, as it allows staff to share and learn with staff from other organisations. We encourage our team to attend external training sessions and forums, such as those provided by Southwest Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's end of life team.

In summary, supporting your staff who deliver end of life care requires appropriate training, guidance, and regular support to ensure they are equipped to deliver the highest quality care while remaining happy. Providers should pay particular attention to ensuring staff understand how to communicate properly with those being supported and their loved ones, having proper guidance in place for each stage of care, following best practise, and offering regular access to mental health and wellbeing support for their teams.

Take a look at our ‘End of life care’ care topic for resources to help equip staff with the skills and knowledge to provide quality end of life care. You can also use our ‘Wellbeing resource finder’ to find ways to support staff wellbeing, including support with loss, bereavement and grief.

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