Supporting Organisation: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
About Nicola's fellowship project
Title: Understanding the experiences of early-career community nurses in discussing end-of-life care preferences with patients and their families.
This study aims to understand the training and support needs of new and less experienced community nurses when initiating and revisiting conversations about end-of-life care preferences with patients and families.
Community palliative care is a priority, with the NHS 10-Year Plan highlighting a shift from hospital to community-based care. Effective end-of-life care planning requires ongoing, honest discussions to identify patients’ preferences and support needs.
However, community nursing teams have seen a reduction in experienced district nurses and an increase in newly qualified staff. Less experienced nurses may avoid difficult conversations because of limited confidence and lack of experience. Evidence suggests that early-career community nurses often feel underprepared for these conversations and that experienced staff have limited time to provide support.
Training in end-of-life care is available within CPFT but concerns relating to end-of-life discussions and planning continue to feature in patient safety incidents, complaints and PALS feedback. This qualitative interview study will explore early-career community nurses’ experiences of discussing end-of-life care preferences and identify how they could be better prepared and supported. Findings will inform local training and support, contribute to the evidence base, and may support development of a future training intervention.
Contact Nicola: Nicola.zolnhofer@cpft.nhs.uk