A new session on the AMBER care bundle has been added to the End of Life Care for All (e-ELCA) elearning programme.

This new session describes what the care bundle is, why it was developed and how to use it in clinical practice. It also explains how the resource will help colleagues to provide high quality care for patients who are facing uncertain recovery and may be approaching the end of life.

Eleven sessions have also recently been updated within the programme.

These sessions are:

• Framework for End of Life Care in Advanced Kidney Disease
  This session identifies the key elements of advanced kidney care and suggests ways of bridging the traditional boundaries of care.
• Breaking bad news
  Ways to deliver bad news effectively are identified within this session.
• Distress: The crying patient
  How common reasons for distress can be identified and the most effective responses professionals can provide are explored within this session.
• Management of Cognitive deterioration

This session provides a framework for the management of diminishing cognitive function.

• Case Study Dementia
  This case study gives suggestions about how care can be delivered to someone suffering from advanced dementia.
• Recognising and Managing Malignant Spinal Cord Compression
  This session provides a framework for recognising and managing spinal cord compression when immediate treatment may restore function that would otherwise be lost.
• Assessment of Physical Function
  This session explores assessment of physical function, one of the four core areas of a holistic assessment, and its potential interactions with other areas
• Initiating Conversations About End of Life Care: Long-term Neurological Conditions
  The challenges involved in communicating with patients with long-term neurological condition and their relatives is explored in this session.
• Dying in Acute Hospitals
  This session addresses the key issues to be considered when somebody is dying in a busy acute hospital setting.
• “I’m not loveable anymore…” – discussing intimacy in advanced illness
  Concerns about intimacy when approaching the end of life, and how to effectively approach the topic are explored within this session.
• Assessment and management of weight loss and loss of appetite
  This session gives a framework for assessing and managing loss of appetite, weight loss and cachexia in patients near the end of their lives.

More information is available on the End of Life Care for All (e-ELCA) programme page.

A new session and two new learning paths have been added to the End of Life Care for All (e-ELCA) elearning programme.

The Registered Nurse Verification of Expected Adult Death session aims to highlight the processes and responsibilities of a registered nurse when verifying an expected adult death. It is designed to support the Special Edition of Care After Death: Registered Nurse Verification of Expected Adult Death (RNVoEAD) guidance (Hospice UK 2020).

This session has also been added to the e-ELCA Resources to support staff with difficult conversations and end of life care learning path which was created to support staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two new learning paths have also been added to the elearning programme.

The e-ELCA Learning Path for General Practitioners with an Interest in Palliative and End-of-Life Care  has been designed for GPs who are looking to develop and maintain their palliative care knowledge. It will also be useful for GP trainees completing a placement in a hospice. It was designed with reference to sessions in the End of Life Care module in the e-GP programme and provides supplementary knowledge to this.

The e-ELCA Renal Learning Path is designed to support health care professionals involved in the care of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. It includes sessions which focus on the trajectory of illness and planning for the future, discussions around specific interventions, medical management and symptom control.

The Advanced Care Planning module in e-ELCA has been reviewed and updated as part of the rolling review of materials across the elearning programme. Specialists in Advance Care Planning edited the 19 sessions to ensure the content remains relevant and is up-to-date with the latest standards and guidelines.

The Advanced Care Planning module is aimed at all staff delivering end of life care and covers a broad range of content such as principles of advance care planning, spiritual and cultural considerations, conducting conversations and illness trajectories.

For more information on the e-ELCA programme, please visit: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/end-of-life-care/. For social care workers, administrative and clerical staff and volunteers, a public access version of e-ELCA is available here: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/end-of-life-care-for-all-public-access/.

New sessions

A new session has been completed and can be accessed on e-ELCA: 5.24 – Culturally sensitive palliative and end of life care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Many thanks to Claude Chidiac for writing this session.

Work has continued on a new session on the AMBER care bundle. Further new sessions are currently in the very early stages of development.

Session updates

The following session updates have been uploaded to e-ELCA recently:

• 10 – Things which block good communication
• 19 – Care after death I – introduction to care after death
• 20 – Care after death II – providing personal care after death.

Alongside this, multiple session updates are currently in progress. Session updates will continue on a regular basis, and many thanks to those who have contributed to this process. If anyone would like to get involved in this then please contact us.

Learning paths

Learning paths are a useful way of identifying e-ELCA sessions that could be useful for your own learning, as well as for the education of others. Recently, learning paths for specialists in palliative care and those working in nursing homes (both nurses and carers) have been uploaded to the e-ELCA resource.

A learning path for medical students has been developed following discussion at the APM undergraduate education special interest forum and mapping to the APM medical student curriculum. This will be uploaded to the e-ELCA programme soon, please watch out for tweets about this. This learning path comprises core, additional and case study sessions and is relevant for all medical students on clinical placements.

Communications

We have had a poster accepted at The Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland (APM) Supportive and Palliative Care Conference that is taking place in Harrogate in March, where we will also be on the APM stand. Please come and find us!

Follow us on Twitter @cmf_elca to be kept up to date on new sessions, session updates and other important updates.

Contact

Rich Kitchen

APM e-ELCA lead

Email: richard.kitchen@nhs.net

Twitter: @cmf_elca

Youtube: e-ELCA

e-ELCA URL: http://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/end-of-life-care/