Unit 81 Support Individuals at the End of Life
1 Understand the requirements of legislation and agreed ways of working to protect the rights of individuals at the end of life. 1.1 Outline legal requirements and agreed ways of working designed to protect the rights of individuals in end of life care.
Caring for patients at the end of life is a challenging task that requires not only the consideration of the patient as a whole but also an understanding of the family, social, legal, economic, and institutional circumstances that surround patient care.
A legal requirement of end of life care is that the wishes of the individual, including whether CPR should be attempted, as well as their wishes how they are cared for after death are…show more content… 2 Understand advance care planning in relation to end of life care
3.1 Describe the benefits to an individual of having as much control as possible over their end of life care
A person will benefit enormously at having control over the end of life care. To know that everything “is taken care of” relieves some of the stress and emotion that an individual may feel at the end of life. They are also reassured that their beliefs and wishes will be adhered too, which is good for their health and wellbeing.
3.2 Explain the purpose of advance care planning in relation to end of life care
Advance care planning provides a mechanism to improve the quality of end of life care for people. It enables the coordination of their desired access to resources and services, to match their anticipated care needs.
Advance care planning also offers everyone, and especially people living with a terminal condition, their families and significant others the opportunity to take control of decisions which affect their care.
Advance care planning should not be considered only relevant to people nearing the end of life but be considered by everyone. It should be considered as an ongoing conversation between the individual, their care team and as appropriate their family, significant others and carers.
