This theme aims to facilitate optimal care pathways at the end of life. It is led by Dr Stephen Barclay, a GP and honorary consultant at Arthur Rank Hospice, with extensive experience in palliative care research, education and policy. The programme of work is carried out in collaboration with a range of NHS bodies, but also with charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support and the local Arthur Rank House hospice charity. The theme is mainly based in the Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge.

End of Life Care projects have included a GP survey, which was designed to find out the learning needs of General Practitioners and Community Nurses regarding palliative care, and led on to a local and regional educational initiative; a collaborative project run with NHS Cambridgeshire evaluating the establishment of a new palliative care telephone advice line for practitioners; a collaborative project with NHS Cambridgeshire and the Cambridge hospice evaluating a new “Hospice at Home” service; systematic literature reviews of conversations with patients approaching the end of life; and an analysis of “patient choice” in end of life care.

Our main projects:

• End of lifecare discussions in heart failure and COPD

• Developing end of life care provision in the community

• Artificial nutrition decisions for people at risk of lacking capacity 

• ACE study – understanding admissions close to the end of life

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CLAHRC End of life care information leaflets

• Research update 5 – Advance care planning and end of life care

• CLAHRC BITE No 4 – End of Life Care conversations

• CLAHRC BITE No 5 – End of Life Care training for GPs and District Nurses