In this episode of the Pre-Hospital Care Podcast, we explore the evolving role of ambulance clinicians in palliative and end-of-life care. We’re joined by a dedicated team working to improve how prehospital services support patients in their final months, ensuring care is compassionate, coordinated, and patient-centred.
We introduce the team and their roles before breaking down the key concepts of palliative and end-of-life care. We discuss the differences between generalist and specialist palliative care, the challenges of identifying patients in the last year of life, and the critical role ambulance services play in this journey.
The conversation then moves to the service gaps and educational challenges identified within prehospital care. We examine referral pathways, tools like SPICT for early identification, and how technology shapes advanced care planning (ACP) to help inform decision-making. The team also highlights the importance of education in building clinician confidence when navigating these complex cases.
Looking ahead, we discuss the future of prehospital palliative care, including the role of simulation training, national collaboration, and addressing healthcare inequalities. We also explore opportunities for joint learning, debriefs, and improved care pathways to strengthen the connection between ambulance services and specialist palliative care teams.
The SPICT tool can be found here: https://www.spict.org.uk/the-spict/
This podcast is sponsored by PAX.
Whatever kind of challenge you have to face - with PAX backpacks you are well-prepared. Whether on water, on land or in the air - PAX's versatile, flexible backpacks are perfectly suitable for your requirements and can be used in the most demanding of environments. Equally, PAX bags are built for comfort and rapid access to deliver the right gear at the right time to the right patient. To see more of their innovatively designed product range, please click here:
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!