Abstract
There is nothing more certain in life than death. How we as individuals approach this challenging event will be influenced by personal experiences of the care we receive from health and social care providers. To ensure those experiencing the end of life receive a high-quality service, a fully trained and competent workforce is essential to turn the policy rhetoric into practice. Provision of excellence by the workforce is clearly linked to continuing professional development (CPD) and the education of frontline workers. As assistant practitioners (APs) have an important role to play in the provision of end-of-life care, accessing education and training in this aspect of their role is essential.
The University of Bolton Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care Programme currently has a cohort of students who are undertaking a two-year foundation degree programme. This cohort of students works in 4 distinct areas—hospice inpatient services; hospice at home; day care services; and nursing homes in the north-west—and these students will specialise in palliative and end-of-life care in their second year.
In this article, the first of four, the aim is to discuss provision of palliative and end-of-life care and how the AP will be enabled to access the knowledge and skills required to ensure the diverse and holistic needs of palliative and end-of-life patients are met.