End of Life Care

Advance care planning is important. It is a structured discussion with residents and their families or carers about their wishes and thoughts for the future. It is a key part of improving care for people approaching the end of life, helping them plan where and how they would prefer to receive care. The aim is to understand each person's wishes, needs and preferences so that care can be delivered in line with what matters to them.

End of life care supports people who are approaching the end of their life. It aims to help them live as comfortably and meaningfully as possible, with dignity, and also supports their family or carers. End of life care includes palliative care. When someone has an incurable illness, palliative care focuses on relieving pain and other distressing symptoms while providing psychological, social and spiritual support for the person and their family or carer.

This is a holistic approach to care, focusing on the whole person rather than only one aspect of their needs. Depending on individual needs, support may involve GPs, community nurses, hospital teams, hospice staff and other healthcare professionals. People should be involved in decisions about where they receive care and, where possible, where they would prefer to spend the final stage of life. Palliative and end of life care can be provided in hospitals, care homes, hospices and at home, depending on individual circumstances.

At Nightingale House, we provide compassionate end of life care based on each resident's wishes and assessed needs. We work closely with GPs, district nurses and other healthcare professionals to help provide coordinated end of life care. We aim to ensure that appropriate equipment, medication and support are available so residents can remain as comfortable and pain-free as possible, with dignity, while their families receive appropriate support.
Nightingale House encourages residents to discuss and record their wishes, needs and preferences for the care they would like to receive as they approach the end of life.