ParAid: Paramedic delivery of end-of-life care (Phase 2 only)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Paramedic delivery of end-of-life care: a mixed methods evaluation of service provision and professional practice
IRAS ID
340051
Contact name
Natasha Campling
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 8 days
Research summary
Research question: How do different models of service provision shape paramedic practice and influence outcomes for individuals at end-of-life?
Design: Multi-phase, Mixed-Methods.
Paramedics are often important to patients in the last year of their life (end-of-life). We know that 999 calls are increasing for individuals and their families at end-of-life, which may be because services in the community are under pressure e.g. those provided by family doctors and community nurses. Little wide scale research has been carried out to understand the contribution played by paramedics in these situations and how this might be improved. From practice it is known that paramedics attending patients at end-of-life face complex issues such as: not knowing the patient or their family, lack of availability of patient history, fear of doing wrong, issues with family conflict and a lack of healthcare professionals to hand over to out-of-hours if the patient is to remain at home.
The study is focused on evaluating services and care provided by paramedics to people in the last year of life. We have surveyed paramedics throughout England to understand their professional practice and what factors influence this, and this new phase will conduct in-depth case studies (collecting information from patients, carers and healthcare professionals) to examine different ways of delivering services and how these shape paramedic decision-making and management of risk. It is important to evaluate service delivery and understand how the best service features can be incorporated into other services to improve the quality of care and support provided to patients and their families. This may prevent unnecessary hospital admissions at end-of-life, which often leads to people dying in hospital when most people state they would prefer to be cared for, and die, at home.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/0405
Date of REC Opinion
24 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion