PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Simon Tavabie
AU  - Steve Bass
AU  - Eleanor Stewart
AU  - Ethan Redmore
AU  - Ollie Minton
TI  - Care of the dying person before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A quality improvement project
AID  - 10.7861/fhj.2020-0047
DP  - 2020 Oct 01
TA  - Future Healthcare Journal
PG  - e50--e53
VI  - 7
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/7/3/e50.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/7/3/e50.full
SO  - Future Healthc J2020 Oct 01; 7
AB  - The current COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the redeployment of NHS staff to acute-facing specialties, meaning that care of dying people is being provided by those who may not have much experience in this area. This report details how a plan, do, study, act (PDSA) approach was taken to implementing improved, standardised multidisciplinary documentation of individualised care and review for people who are in the last hours or days of life, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentation and training produced is subject to ongoing review via the specialist palliative care team's continuously updated hospital deaths dashboard, which evaluates the care of patients who have died in the trust. We hope that sharing the experiences and outcomes of this process will help other trusts to develop their own pathways and improve the care of dying people through this difficult time and beyond.