IGHI's Helix Centre publish new End-of-Life Care guidance apps

The HELIX Centre has released Apps on the iTunes and Google Play app stores to provide End of Life Care Guidance to health workers on the front line.

The apps are in response to work the HELIX Centre has undertaken for the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People (LACDP), who wrote the new guidelines as the Liverpool Care Pathway is phased out.

The Liverpool Care Pathway was a controversial protocol for providing end of life care that has been phased out following the report “More Care Less Pathway”, chaired by Baroness Neuberger. The LACDP was tasked with writing new guidance. It is chaired by Dr Bee Wee and comprises 21 charities and public organisations..

The HELIX Centre was commissioned to produce a range of graphic designs including posters, leaflets and booklets for the LACDP, which have been published on the NHS IQ website (link below). The HELIX Centre then produced the Apps, which are made available free of charge.

HELIX Project Lead, Matthew Harrison said “So many doctors and nurses in the UK have smart phones that there is a huge opportunity for them to have this important healthcare guidance in their pocket 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Apps allow clinicians to access information in their downtime, perhaps on their commute to and from work.”

HELIX Clinical Lead, Dr Dominic King, NIHR Clinical Lecturer at the Department of Surgery & Cancer Imperial College London said: “In keeping with an increasing number of clinical colleagues my smartphone is the primary route through which I access information and support to make the best decisions for my patients. The End of Life Guidance app is a great example of how apps can deliver up-to-date information when you most need it. The HELIX Centre, through bringing together designers, developers and healthcare professionals, is working on a number of mobile health (mHealth) products that have the potential to improve patient experience, efficiency of clinical staff, and ultimately clinical outcomes.”

The app is available via our partners Digital Stitch, a spinout from Imperial College London, formed with support from Imperial Innovations, which is focused on using mobile device technologies to deliver effective and cost-efficient healthcare solutions.