New tool helps patients and carers see how well Morecambe Bay hospitals provide care at the end of life
People can now see how well hospitals run by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) provide care at the end of life and support those important to patients during their final admission to hospital.
The National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) has published its Patient and Carer Tool, which presents hospital-level results across five key measures (that are also part of the full NACEL Audit), including personalised care planning, symptom management, spiritual and cultural support, specialist palliative care provision and feedback from bereaved relatives and carers.
The NACEL audit assesses the quality of care received by adults in their last days of life in acute and community hospitals across England, Wales and Jersey. Findings are informed by patient records, organisational surveys and feedback from bereaved people.
Feedback from bereaved people at UHMBT shows that the proportion of people rating overall care and support as excellent or good and reporting that communication was handled sensitively, is above both peer and national averages.
At UHMBT, the findings help Trust teams to understand how they are performing and where they can continue to strengthen care for patients and those important to them. Preliminary information indicates positive results across a number of measures, including feedback from bereaved people about the care and support provided by teams across the Trust.
The recent NACEL Audit 2025 at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI), found:
*Feedback from bereaved families was positive, with more people rating the care and support they received as good or excellent than in similar trusts and nationally. They also reported that communication was handled with sensitivity and compassion
*Performance on personalised care planning at FGH was initially below both peer and national averages, at 31.5% and 26.6% compared with 79.8% and 84.9%. However, there has been a marked improvement in the first quarter of this year, with scores rising to 53.8% and 66.7%
The next steps for the implementation of NACEL audit are as follows:
*Hospital teams will continue to use the Care of the Dying care plan consistently across all nursing and medical colleagues
*Teams will make sure care records clearly show that patients’ and families’ spiritual, religious and cultural needs have been considered, and that pain relief and symptom management have been provided where needed
*Use of the Care of the Dying care plan will be reviewed every month through the End of Life Board
*Work will continue to develop a business case for a seven-day Specialist Palliative Care Service
*Teams will continue to encourage feedback from bereaved families to help improve care and support
*Audit results will be shared with relevant teams and committees, including the Trust's Audit Committee, so that learning and improvements can be monitored and acted upon
Dr Helen Skinner, Chief Medical Officer, UHMBT, said: “Providing high-quality care at the end of life is one of the most important responsibilities we have as healthcare professionals.
“The NACEL Patient and Carer Tool, as part of the full NACEL audit, provides valuable insight into the experiences of patients and those important to them, helping us understand where we are delivering excellent care and where we can continue to improve.
“As a Trust, we know we have work to do in terms of improving access to specialist palliative care services seven days a week and plans are in place to address this. Work is also ongoing to improve the recording of individualised care planning that includes assessing for spiritual, psychological and cultural needs.
“We welcome the publication of these results as part of our commitment to openness and continuous improvement. The feedback from bereaved relatives and carers is particularly valuable and helps ensure patients are treated with dignity, compassion and respect, while those important to them feel supported during a very difficult time.
“We would like to thank all of our teams involved in caring for patients at the end of life across our hospitals. Their professionalism, kindness, compassion and dedication are reflected in the experiences shared through this audit.”
The NACEL Patient and Carer Tool is available at https://www.nacel.nhs.uk/patients-and-carers-tool-data