Helping service users cope with terminal illness

The Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of
People with Learning Disabilities reviewed the deaths
over a two-year period of all people with learning
disabilities living in five primary care trusts. It aimed
to identify good practice in the care of people with
learning disabilities, and to contribute to learning and
recommendations about what might have been done
differently. This article presents a case study about
end-of-life planning and palliative care. It discusses
how a multidisciplinary team collaborated to support
an individual with a terminal condition. Examples
are given of the good practice recognised by the
confidential inquiry investigation and learning points
arising from the case are highlighted.