1. Palliative Care Education in Lothian: Does it Measure Up
Palliative Care Education in Lothian: Does it Measure Up? A Mapping Exercise: Lothian MCN Educators Group
Why?
Palliative care education is about ensuring quality care for patients and families at the end of life.(1) The Living and Dying Well [LDW] action plan(2,3) requires educational support to make palliative care for all a reality. In 2010/11 the MCN Educators undertook a Mapping Exercise to see how well education measures up to the L&DW action points.
Who?
The Managed Clinical Network [MCN]Educators represent a range of disciplines and organisations in Lothian. The remit of the group includes communicating with generalist and specialist palliative care providers through the Lothian MCN. The group also support the delivery of local and national strategies.
How?
The group identified 87 learning/teaching initiatives, which are set out non-hierarchically in Figure 1. 
Each initiative was then mapped against the action points of L&DW.
The percentage of educational activities mapping against key action points of L&DW are shown in Figure 3.
Most L&DW action points are very well addressed (ACP, LCP etc)
Some action points – such as the use of agreed tools/triggers for recognising palliative care patients – need revisited.
Thinking Ahead: Challenges
The educators have identified these as:
Sustainability – some major education projects are time-limited
Attendance and uptake of learning opportunities may be reduced in the current economic climate
Ensuring staff and managers have information about what is available.
Conclusion
There is a significant amount of palliative care education in Lothian, which overwhelmingly supports the national action plan and the Lothian strategy. (4) Despite the challenges, education has measured up to the standard set by L&DW and the group will use this Mapping Exercise to build on progress in the future.
References:
Wee, B., Hughes, N Introduction: learning and teaching palliative care. In: Wee, B., Hughes, N. Ed. Education in Palliative Care. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Scottish Government Living and Dying Well: A National Action Plan for Palliative and End of Life Care in Scotland. Edinburgh.
Scottish Government Living and Dying Well: Building on Progress. Available at:
NHS Lothian Living and Dying Well in Lothian – Lothian’s Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy Available at:
Figure 3
Figure 1
Results
Almost all education is relevant to staff caring for patients with non-malignant as well as malignant disease, Figure 2.
Figure 2