Evaluation of GSFCH Programme

The National GSF Centre has always sought independent evaluation of the effectiveness of its work. Since 2004 there have been a number of studies showing the improvement in care and reduction in inappropriate hospital admissions and deaths at homes that have completed the programme. These include:

Evaluations of the training programme include:

• Summary of Evidence of Effectiveness for Gold Standards Framework Care Homes Training Programme
• The Phase 2 University of Birmingham study funded by Macmillan
• The Phase 4 Edinburgh University Study
• Local studies in Surrey and Sussex and Manchester and others
• Ongoing ADA audit assessments
• Action research feedback from workshops and 'speed dating'

Published papers include:

• Evaluation Effectivess of the GSFCH and LCP in Care Homes, Watson J, Hockley J, Murray S, End of Life Care, 2010, Vol 4, No 3
• An evaluation of the implementation of a programme to improve end-of-life care in nursing homes, F Badger, C Clifford, A Hewison and K Thomas, Palliat Med 2009; 23; 502 originally published online May 28, 2009; DOI: 10.1177/0269216309105893
• Raising Standards for Elderly People Dying in Care Homes article - Reproduced by kind permission of the European Journal of Palliative Care and held under copyright by them (European Journal of Palliative Care)
• University of Birmingham Phase 2 Evaluation Executive summary report
• Conference Abstracts Birmingham
• Conference abstracts Edinburgh

The University of Birmingham evaluation of the GSFCH Programme, Phase 2 showed that considerable improvements were made in the quality of care provided and the number of residents admitted to hospital in crises was reduced by a third and the number of hospital deaths were halved. Also other benefits include improvements in the:

• Quality and coordination of care of residents,
• Proactive planning,
• Advance Care Planning discussions,
• Involvement of families,
• Improved collaboration with GPs and Specialist Palliative Care Teams
• Better staff satisfaction, lifting morale and confidence, leading to greater levels of staff retention.

The NCF is proud to be associated with the GSF which has been developed to ensure that people in care homes receive the best quality of care and support. The professional and rigorous framework that it brings and the commitment to staff training it requires, provides an important level of reassurance about the services being offered.
Des Kelly OBE, Executive Director, National Care Forum