CARE Course Topic: Advance Care Planning

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One day Principles and Practice of Palliative and End of Life Care for Homecare workers

Providing the essential building blocks to support people at the end of life and their families

Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Nurse Consultant Development Programme

A one-day training day to increase the confidence and skills of homecare workers caring for people who are approaching the end of life and their families. By attending the training, carers will gain an understanding of:

  • What is palliative and end-of-life care? Dispelling myths
  • Sensitive communication and working with informal carers
  • Maximising the potential of the person you are supporting
  • Recognising and responding to common symptoms 
  • Recognising dying and care in the last days of life
  • Lone working, self-care and reflective practice

St Christopher’s are really pleased to be putting into practice recommendations for palliative and end-of-life training for homecare workers following an extensive study of the first-hand experiences of homecare workers, managers, people receiving care and their family members, health and social practitioners and commissioners.

We are looking to partner with homecare agencies who can send up to 5 team members on our first iteration of this training on Wednesday 11th November with the ask that the attendees also take part in evaluation of the training so we can understand how the training has impacted on practice. 

Attendees will receive refreshments, lunch, a tour of the hospice, a certificate of completion and resources to support their ongoing practice.

We really hope you can join us.

Managers, Carers and Senior Carers at Homecare agencies.

We encourage up to 5 attendees from each agency to maximise the impact.

Gill Early

Gill started her career in a Croydon nursing home at the age of 16 years old. She trained as a nurse, graduating as a Registered General Nurse in 1986.
Read More Gill Early

Additional tutors may present certain sessions on the day.

Universal Care Plan (UCP) Training for Croydon Care Homes

We are delighted to introduce the Universal Care Plan (UCP) training plan, a comprehensive initiative designed to support Care Homes in delivering consistent, person-centred care. This programme takes a staged approach to ensure that training is practical, sustainable, and embedded in daily practice.

This initiative reflects our commitment to supporting Care Homes in delivering excellent care through collaboration and shared learning.

Join us as we work together to make a lasting impact on the quality of care provided to residents.

In Year One, the focus is on building strong foundations with:

  • In-person training for Care Home Managers, providing them with the tools to lead the implementation of UCPs.
  • Online training for staff who will become UCP Champions, equipping them with the skills to facilitate Advance Care Planning conversations and promote the value of UCPs.
  • Local training sessions hosted by Lead Care Homes in Purley, Norwood, South Croydon, and Kenley, inviting neighbouring Care Homes to share and learn from UCP-based practices.

In Year Two, the programme continues to develop with:

  • On-site support from St Christopher’s clinical team, working directly with UCP Champions in Croydon Care Homes.
  • Online training for new Champions and refresher sessions for existing ones, ensuring skills remain sharp and effective.

UCP Training for Registered Managers (in-person at St Christopher’s CARE in Sydenham, London)

Training for UCP Champions (online)

More dates to be announced

If your Care Home is outside of Croydon but you are interested in this opportunity, please email education@stchristophers.org.uk

All Care Home staff in Croydon.

Gill Early

Gill started her career in a Croydon nursing home at the age of 16 years old. She trained as a nurse, graduating as a Registered General Nurse in 1986.
Read More Gill Early

By the end of the UCP training programme, you will be able to:

  1. Define the principles, benefits, and common misconceptions of Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Universal Care Plans (UCPs).
  2. Describe challenges and issues related to ACP implementation in the context of UCPs, including addressing sensitive topics with families and residents.
  3. Demonstrate effective skills for conducting difficult, sensitive, and challenging conversations about end-of-life care with residents and their families.
  4. Record and share ACPs by gathering resident information, wishes, and preferences, ensuring accurate and effective use of the UCP system.
  5. Create appropriate responses to complex scenarios, such as managing expectations, addressing cultural considerations, supporting residents with dementia, and handling emergency situations.
  6. Assess personal strategies for self-care, recognising the emotional demands of engaging in sensitive conversations and supporting end-of-life care.

These outcomes aim to empower care home staff to confidently use the UCP system, with the ability to deliver compassionate, person-centred care while enhancing collaboration and communication within your teams and with residents’ families.

Principles and Practice of Palliative and End of Life Care

Providing the essential building blocks to support patients and their families at the end of life

Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Nurse Consultant Development Programme

Join us for a one day course, which provides health and social care professionals working in any setting with an introduction to the key principles and fundamental skills in Palliative and End of Life Care.  

What will the course look like? 

By attending this course, you will have the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and increase your knowledge, skills and confidence in end of life care.  

Our course embraces a multidisciplinary approach to support a truly holistic response to caring for people approaching the end of life. 

Our trainers bring together expertise from a range of professional backgrounds. While we acknowledge and speak directly to the unique contributions of individual professions during our sessions, we remain grounded in the core value of effective Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) working. 

The diagram below highlights the five key principles that form the foundation of our course: 

A diagram of the Five Principles

This course is for all professionals working in the health and social care sector who have limited knowledge of, or wish to refresh their understanding of palliative and end of life care. It is suitable for staff across a wide range of settings, including Care Homes, domiciliary care and may also be relevant for those working in primary care, social work, or those new to working in hospices.   

You will understand the difference between palliative care and end of life care and dying (including key definitions). You will be able to explain key terminology and understand the changing face of death and dying with an aging population. You will develop an awareness of personhood and person-centred practice. 

You will understand the importance of key communication skills and how to apply these to common difficult questions from patients and family. You will understand how to manage and support patients and family who are upset or angry as well as considering conversations related to assisted dying. 

What matters to you? A central question to ensure we are person centred in future care planning. We will look at the basic outline of planning ahead and what it involves, including how we document future care planning. We will use scenarios to explore key terms and aspects related to Advance care plans. 

You will understand the importance of maintaining activity and function through deterioration. You will be able to employ basic exercises to maintain function and describe the importance of understanding “What Matters” to each person.  

You will understand and recognise key features of normal dying. You will be able to increase awareness and provision of holistic care at the end of life. You gain an awareness of the five priorities of care of a dying person, and their loved ones and how to relate these to practice.   

You will understand ways of reflecting, including debriefing. You will be aware of wider support such as the NHS guidelines on self-care. 

Gill Early

Gill started her career in a Croydon nursing home at the age of 16 years old. She trained as a nurse, graduating as a Registered General Nurse in 1986.
Read More Gill Early

Additional tutors may present certain sessions on the day.

Physician Associate Introduction to Palliative Care Community of Practice

Quality End of Life Care for All (QELCA) Train the Trainer Programme

This introductory programme is for physician associates with an interest in furthering their knowledge and skills in palliative care.

This is the first palliative care programme in the UK specifically tailored to physician associates.

This community of practice will consist of four afternoon sessions, providing an opportunity for developing communication skills and networking. The first three sessions will be via Zoom and the last session in-person at St Christopher’s CARE in Sydenham.

The four sessions will focus on:

  • An introduction to palliative care
  • Symptom control and psychological support
  • End of life care including recognising dying and anticipatory medicines
  • Communication skills involving scenarios

Who is it for?

This community of practice is open to physician associates either working in palliative care or primary care within the boroughs served by St. Christopher’s Hospice.

CPD accreditation from the FPA (Faculty of Physician Associates) pending

Please email education@stchristophers.org.uk if you are interested to join this future community.

The global learning objectives for this community are to:

  • Understand the core principles of palliative care, including symptom management, communication, and holistic patient care.
  • Reflect on personal attitudes and biases related to death, dying, and end-of-life care, and develop a compassionate and empathetic approach towards patients and their families.

Philippa Guppy

Philippa is a palliative care trainee in London, she combines her clinical role with her educational role as senior lecturer, chief OSCE examiner for the MPAS programme and chief examiner…
Read More Philippa Guppy

Chris Mangar

Chris is a Clinical Team Lead working for St Christopher’s in Bromley. He has worked in the community for many years and in specialist palliative care since 2011.  Chris combined holding…
Read More Chris Mangar

End of Life Scenarios Skills Workshop

Scenario-based training to build confidence in communicating and managing a range of situations that may occur in the last days of life.

CPD accreditation logo

Participants will be able to practice skills such as assessment, decision making at the end of life and communicating with relatives. This workshop aims to provide a safe space, allowing professionals to experience what it might be like to care for someone at the end of life, encouraging them to feel more confident to do this in their place of work.

We are delighted to confirm this workshop now has CPD Accreditation.

During this workshop you will:

  • Feel more confident to care for someone at the end of life
  • Be able to discuss the communication skills needed to work with this patient group
  • Be able to discuss cultural differences with regards to end of life care

This workshop will take place at St Christopher’s CARE in Sydenham.

Who is it for?

The course is appropriate for all Nurses, Nursing Associates, Healthcare Assistants, Care Home Managers and other allied health professionals looking to refresh their knowledge about end of life care.

Kim Hydes

Kim is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at St Christopher’s Hospice, caring and supporting individuals and their families who are at end of life in the Bromley community area. She has recently joined the Professional Learning team at St Christopher’s CARE in a seconded role as a visiting lecturer alongside her community role. She will be facilitating the ECHOs for Bromley and Croydon mental health and learning disability care homes plus the Croydon and Lambeth care homes. She will also be teaching on a range of our skills workshops on offer. Kim has worked as a palliative care nurse in the…
Read full profile Kim Hydes

Learning Disabilities and Palliative Care Skills Workshop

How can we improve palliative care for people with learning disabilities?

This is an interactive session which aims to improve participants understanding of learning disabilities and how we can meet the needs of this patient group towards the end of life. It will include case studies and opportunity for Q&A.

Topics will include: supporting communication, decisions around hospital admissions, providing person-centred care and symptom assessment for this patient group. By the end of this session you will have improved confidence in supporting individuals with learning disabilities towards the end of life.

We are delighted to confirm this workshop now has CPD Accreditation.

Two people talking
CPD accreditation logo

What will I learn?

This workshop will take place at St Christopher’s CARE in Sydenham.

Topics will include:

  • Advance care planning
  • Symptom assessment for people with learning disabilities
  • Communicating about death and illness.
  • Decisions around hospital admissions

Who is it for?

This workshop is appropriate for all Nurses, Nursing Associates, Healthcare Assistants, support workers, Care Home Managers and other allied health professionals looking to refresh their knowledge about learning disabilities in palliative care.

Phoebe Mooney 

Phoebe is a Clinical Nurse Specialist for people with learning disabilities working in palliative care at St Christopher’s Hospice. She has always had a special interest in palliative care and prior to her current role Phoebe worked as an advance care planning nurse for adults with LD in East London. Phoebe also has experience of working as a community learning disability nurse in both physical and mental health. Phoebe is passionate about improving the support people with learning disabilities receive at the end of life and enjoys teaching and raising awareness about this topic.
Read full profile Phoebe Mooney 

Kim Hydes

Kim is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at St Christopher’s Hospice, caring and supporting individuals and their families who are at end of life in the Bromley community area. She has recently joined the Professional Learning team at St Christopher’s CARE in a seconded role as a visiting lecturer alongside her community role. She will be facilitating the ECHOs for Bromley and Croydon mental health and learning disability care homes plus the Croydon and Lambeth care homes. She will also be teaching on a range of our skills workshops on offer. Kim has worked as a palliative care nurse in the…
Read full profile Kim Hydes

Principles and Practice of Palliative and End of Life Care – Intermediate Three Day Course for Registered Professionals  

Two female nurses talking to each other

This three-day course provides nurses and Allied Health Professionals working in any setting with the essential building blocks to support patients and their families at the end of life.

What will the course look like? 

This three-day foundational course provides health and social care professionals who are registered with a professional body with the essential building blocks to support patients and families at the end of life. This includes a range of settings including: primary care, acute hospitals, the community and care homes.  

Our course embraces a multidisciplinary approach to support a truly holistic response to caring for people approaching the end of life. 

Our trainers bring together expertise from a range of professional backgrounds. While we acknowledge and speak directly to the unique contributions of individual professions during our sessions, we remain grounded in the core value of effective Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) working. 

The diagram below highlights the five key principles that form the foundation of our course: 

A diagram of the Five Principles
(diagram adapted from Richardson and Cooper, 2024)

This course is for registered professionals working in the health and social care sector (for example a nurse, Allied Health Professional, doctor, registered manager of a care home etc).

This course enables you to build on foundational knowledge of how to provide person-centred, high quality end of life care. You are likely to work in an environment where you will encounter individuals who need such support, such as Care Homes, primary care, social work etc. 

What is Palliative Care? You will be able to explain the history of palliative care including reference to the World Health Organisation definition and NICE guidelines. You will understand the concept of holistic assessment in end of life. You will explore the concept of personhood applied to people with incurable illnesses. 

You will the foundations in communicating with people at the end of their life and their families, particularly in event of them expressing strong emotions. You will be able to support team members who have encountered challenging conversations.  

You will understand how to initiate conversations regarding advance care planning, how and where to document these.  You will understand the legal aspects and key terms such as Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR). You will consider the barriers of advance care planning and how to address these. You will know the process of registering a death and the legal practicalities involved. 

You will be able to initiate conversations around what matters to individuals and to be able to set goals with individuals.  

You will understand physiological changes during dying and death. You will consider the five priorities of care of a dying person. You will explore care in the last weeks of life and last days of life including medicine management at end of life. You will understand and recognise common symptoms in palliative care. 

You will be able to recognise symptoms and how to report changes including identification of palliative care emergencies. You will understand and apply evidence-based management of pain, breathlessness, nausea and vomiting. You will recognise and can respond to common side effects of common medications at end of life and be able to judge when to initiate a syringe driver.  

You will recognise spiritual needs and how this can be expressed. You will be able to demonstrate how to support a person experiencing spiritual distress. You will reflect on your own spiritual framework and how this can impact on how we care.  

You will understand the diversity and normality of grief. You will be able to reflect on your own experiences of grief and bereavement and recognise and respond to cultural diversity in grief. You will explore models of grief and the concept of anticipatory grief. You will evaluate the difference between normal and prolonged or complicated grief. You will be able to plan support and signpost someone who is grieving to appropriate services.  

You will explore key terms such as equity, inclusion, intersectionality and recognise causes of health inequalities. You will gain an understanding of the current challenges in palliative and end of life care for diverse populations. You will explore factors that influence health inequalities and consider ways in which we can raise awareness to reduce barriers to accessing good quality palliative and end of life care. 

You will recognise stress in yourself and others and understand ways to support colleagues and create an effective working environment that is supportive and enhances wellbeing. You will understand how to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue and how to build personal resilience. You will understand the role of members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) in collaborative practice and support. You will reflect on your own experiences of loss and illness and how that impacts how you care for others. 

The next three-day course will be held virtually on Zoom:

  • Tuesday 17 November
  • Wednesday 18 November
  • Wednesday 25 November

We will then hold an in-person course in February 2027:

  • Tuesday 2 February
  • Wednesday 3 February
  • Wednesday 10 February

Previous attendees have said:

“[The teachers] were very knowledgeable and delivered the training with utmost passion for the course.”

“Very knowledgeable and was very helpful. Has changed my mindset of palliative care.”

“Very interactive”

“Keep up the good work in imparting knowledge that will have a great impact on how professionals give care.”