Evaluating advance care planning programme and training

Details

The Health Quality & Safety Commission (the Commission) leads and coordinates work across the health and disability sector to improve the quality and safety of health and disability services.
The Commission has assumed responsibility for providing the national advance care planning programme in 2016/17 and management of some aspects of the programme. Funding is being provided by the 20 district health boards (DHBs).

Advance care planning gives everyone a chance to say what is important to them. It helps people understand what the future might hold and to say what treatment they would and would not want. It helps people, their families and their healthcare teams plan for future and end of life care.
This makes it much easier for families and healthcare providers to know what the person would want - particularly if they can no longer speak for themselves.
National advance care planning activities have two main components:

1. Management of the national ACP programme, including governance, policy, development, promotion, consumer engagement, and resource development
2. Delivery of ACP training – providing training at different levels to support health care staff to communicate effectively with consumers/families/whanau and each other. This includes a training support function, working with DHBs to help them implement ACP. More information about the training can be found at www.advancecareplanning.org.nz

Having assumed responsibility for this programme, the Commission is seeking proposals to evaluate current ACP practice and awareness across the health and disability sector. This should include an assessment of what supports that practice and facilitated that awareness as well as recommendations of what more needs to be done to increase the quality of ACP activity in New Zealand. The findings of this evaluation will be used to inform future planning of the programme and training.

The evaluation deliverable is a written report suitable for presentation to the Commission and wider relevant stakeholders, making recommendations about current ACP practice, training and resources, as well as recommendations about ongoing ACP practice and activity delivery and suggestions for modifications or enhancements to the current training and resources supporting the ongoing ACP programme.