Using early warning scores to widen access to end-of-life spiritual care

Blake, Timothy
Ellis, Lee
Hoctor, Charlotte
Francis, Sally-Anne

Authors Timothy Blake is site lead chaplain and bereavement services manager; Lee Ellis is resuscitation officer and trigger response nurse; Charlotte Hoctor is end-of-life care facilitator; Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust. Sally-Anne Francis is senior research fellow, Nursing Division, Basildon University Hospital, and Anglia Ruskin University. (Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust and Basildon University Hospital became part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2020.)

Nursing Times 116(8):p 42-44, August 2020.

This article has been double-blind peer reviewed

In this article…

The proportion of adults dying in hospital who are are not offered spiritual care
How early warning scores can be used to identify patients at the end of life
How one trust increased the number of patients to whom spiritual care was offered

Abstract

Spiritual care is an integral part of end-of-life care. National audit data suggests that access to spiritual care for adults in hospital who are dying needs to improve. By adapting an existing digital clinical management system, the end-of-life care team at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust were better able to routinely identify patients in the final stage of life and improve access to spiritual care.