Deprivation is associated with hospital conveyance among patients who are terminally ill.

Background: Hospital admissions of patients who are terminally ill can be associated with poor experiences and unwanted outcomes, such as dying away from home. While area deprivation is associated with emergency hospital admissions in the last year of life, few studies have explored the relationship between deprivation and ambulance clinicians' decisions to convey a patient to the hospital. The aim of this study is to understand the overall proportion of terminally ill patients conveyed to hospitals by paramedics in North West England, and to explore the associations between hospital conveyance and area deprivation.

Improving paramedic responses for patients dying at home: a theory of change-based approach.

Background: Paramedics are increasingly being called to attend patients dying from advanced incurable conditions. However, confidence to deal with such calls varies, with many feeling relatively unskilled in this aspect of their role. A number of interventions have been piloted to improve their skills in end-of-life care (EoLC) but without a fully specified theoretical model.