Paramedics and serious illness: communication training

The need to empower Ambulance Service staff at the point of delivery of end of life care (EoLC) is crucial. We describe the delivery, outcomes and potential impact of the Serious Illness Conversation project delivered to Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) staff. Over an 18-month period, 368 WAST staff attended face-to-face teaching, which included serious illness conversation communication skills, symptom control and 'shared decision making'.

Data collected from WAST staff were used to gain insight on perception of their role and challenges within the context of EoLC, understand the impact of teaching on self-confidence and identify impact on the wider service. A mixed methods approach was used for data analysis.

WAST staff view themselves in several important roles, acting as 'facilitators' to patient-centred, seamless care, providing support, liaison between services and practical help in patient care at the end of life. The difficult questions and situations pertaining to EoLC were related to discussions on death and dying and managing expectation. The predominant barriers identified related to communication. Quantitative outcomes on the six communication domains indicate statistically significant improvement in self-assessed confidence. The overall impact to the wider ambulance service suggests a trend towards better use of resources.

The perceived roles and challenges identified by paramedics can help in customising training objectives. The initial outcomes from the ongoing project with WAST demonstrate increased confidence in handling communication issues. Initial successive surveys suggest teaching is making a real life impact on patient care at end of life.