The phasing out of the Liverpool Care Pathway and the introduction of the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People’s (LACDP’s) five priorities of care has enabled clinicians working in end-of-life care to step back and re-evaluate their practice (LACDP, 2014). The review of end-of-life care services, More Care, Less Pathway (Neuberger, 2013) highlighted areas that needed urgent improvement. These included recognising when a person is dying but understanding the need for ongoing assessment; having a senior named clinician for all patients; and improving the communication skills of all clinicians involved in end-of-life care through the development of educational programmes. Non-malignant diseases are particularly challenging and in these cases it can be hard to recognise when a person is nearing the end of his or her life. Community matrons have their own unique relationship with the people on their caseload and can often provide untapped expertise and support as their condition deteriorates.
