How do Admiral Nurses and care home staff help people living with dementia and their family carers prepare for end-of-life?

OBJECTIVES

To explore current practice and the role of UK care homes and Admiral Nurses in helping people living with dementia and their family carers prepare for end-of-life.

METHODS

We conducted an online survey with all UK Admiral Nurses (59% response rate) and a random sample of Gold Standards Framework accredited care homes in England and Wales (38% response rate). We used descriptive statistics to report survey findings.

RESULTS

While respondents commonly discussed the progressive nature of dementia with people living with dementia and family carers, they less frequently spoke to people with dementia or carers about the nature of dementia as life shortening, terminal, or a disease you can die from. Admiral Nurses highlighted that where service models reduced continuity of care, opportunities for ongoing discussion and developing relationships that supported these discussions were reduced. Admiral Nurses and care homes raised concerns about conversations being left too late, when the person with dementia no longer had capacity to engage. There was a high level of agreement with all European Association of Palliative Care and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) statements presented regarding end-of-life care planning and discussions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey of care homes and Admiral Nurses, combined with findings from our previous survey of UK memory services, increases our understanding of how services help people with dementia and family carers prepare for end-of-life. We found fragmentation across the service system, lack of continuity, and tensions regarding when these conversations should be initiated and by whom.