Surgeries to put on display end-of-life care charter

More than 8,000 GP surgeries in England will be asked to display a new patients’ charter on end of life care.

The document contains seven “pledges” to make the last few weeks and days of a person’s life as comfortable as possible.

It has been created by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Royal College of Nursing (RCN) as an example of the “best practice” all patients deserve from nurses and GPs in primary care.

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The pledges include GPs and their practice teams “doing their utmost” to ensure the patient’s remaining days are comfortable, and that they get all the emotional and spiritual support they need.

Teams will also pledge to do all they can to help patients retain independence and control through the course of their illness.

Patients are invited to offer suggestions for improving the charter, copies of which will be sent to 8,500 GP practices across England to be displayed.

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the RCN, said: “The RCN has worked hard alongside the RCGP to build this charter.”