End of life care strategy for Barnsley

We developed a new Barnsley end of life care strategy in 2015 and asked people locally about what made their experience of services locally good, as well as asking what they would like to see improved.

We understand that end of life care is a sensitive subject, and can be difficult to talk about. However, the CCG is committed to talking openly about this issue to make sure that every resident in Barnsley receives the best possible care at the end of their life. Essential to the development of an effective strategy, alongside recent national policy guidance, is for this to be informed and shaped primarily by the views, wishes and recent experiences of local patients and their carers.

In brief, respondents to the survey highlighted that the most positive aspects of end of life care services in Barnsley in their personal experiences related to the following areas;

• The staff (kindness shown, positive and caring attitude)
• The quality of the communication and information provided
• The level and range of services available

How responsive and supportive those local services had been in their experience. The areas that in their own personal experiences they felt could be improved upon in relation to end of life care services in Barnsley related to the following areas;

• Improved communication and information with this being more joined up across services
• The removal of layers of bureaucracy and red tape
• Ensuring the right level of support and input is provided for each individual
• The provision of suitable pain relief and equipment and
• An improvement in some areas in the attitudes and sensitivity shown towards patients and their families.

This first phase of engagement has only provided us with a snapshot of the views and experiences of patients and carers regarding end of life care services from across Barnsley, their valuable comments and the insight they have provided will be fed back to the lead commissioners within the CCG and used to help to inform the development of the next end of life care strategy for Barnsley.