CMG42 Guide for commissioners on end of life care for adults
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This commissioning guide is a resource to assist commissioners, clinicians and managers to commission high quality and evidence based services across England.
Section 1 makes the case for commissioning services for end of life care for adults
Section 2 a pathways approach to commissioning high-quality integrated end of life care for adults
Section 3 helps you assess local service levels
Section 4 describes service components
Section 5 makes suggestions for contract specification
Section 6 explains more about the cost impact of service redesign
Section 7 sign posts to further information
Section 8 details the Topic Advisory Group on end of life care
NICE guidance provides evidence based recommendations about clinically effective and cost-effective treatments and interventions to improve health outcomes for individuals and local populations. Making commissioning decisions based on the best available evidence such as NICE guidance and NHS Evidence accredited information can help commissioners ensure that they are using their resources effectively.
This commissioning guide should be read together with the following NICE guidance, quality standard and national guidance:
- NICE quality standard (2011) End of life care in adults.
- Department of Health (2009) End of life care strategy: quality markers and measures for end of life care.
- Department of Health (2008) End of life care strategy - promoting high quality care for all adults at the end of life.
- NICE cancer service guidance (2004) Improving supportive and palliative care for adults with cancer.
Implementation of the guidance noted above is the responsibility of local commissioners and/or providers. Commissioners and providers are reminded that it is their responsibility to implement this guidance, in their local context, in light of their duties to avoid unlawful discrimination and to have regard to promoting equality of opportunity. Nothing in the guidance should be interpreted in a way which would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.
We are keen to improve the commissioning guides in order to better meet the needs of commissioners. Please send us your ideas for future topic-specific guides or other comments.
Read the NICE disclaimer for information on the use and accuracy of content on the NICE website.
A topic-specific advisory group was established to review and advise on the content of the guide for commissioners, details of membership can be found in section 8.
Date of publication: December 2011
This page was last updated: 02 March 2012