Roles of key people
You are likely to find yourself working with a range of people when supporting someone who is nearing the end of their life.
When a person is nearing the end of their life, due to a short or longer term illness, they will usually have a team of specialists assigned to and working with them.
An individual’s end of life care team may include a range of different professionals, volunteers, family members, friends, unpaid carers, specialist voluntary services and end of life specialists.
End of life care may be delivered by community health services in a community hospital, to people in their own home or in hospices. It includes aspects of nursing and personal care, specialist palliative care, and bereavement support.
End of life care may be provided by specialist palliative care teams, including nurses, doctors and therapists, they may be more general services, for example delivered by district nurses.
Multidisciplinary working is a key feature of care and there will usually be links with various other local services including acute hospitals, voluntary sector providers, GPs and social care providers.
Care Quality Commission
Local authorities have to provide an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) if an individual does not have family or friends to help them and they have difficulty with:
- Understanding and remembering information
- Communicating their views
- Understanding the pros and cons of different options
Paid carers cannot act as an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate. These people are specially trained and independent of social care services and the NHS.
Advocates can support individuals during end of life reviews and support planning. They can attend meetings with an individual and write letters on their behalf. There are several organisations who provide advocates who have been trained to fulfil this role. The appropriate local authority will be able to provide information about local advocacy services.
An individual may also need support for:
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