Southern Cross Care WA in partnership with Edith Cowan University has been awarded an ARIIA grant for their project ‘Creating an evidence base for the timely introduction of the 'No One Dies Alone' program in Residential Aged Care’.
The idea of dying alone is not in keeping with the notion of a ‘good death’. For most people having a human connection near the end of life is important.
The No-One-Dies-Alone (NODA) program has been introduced in many health settings, demonstrating success anecdotally. The purpose of this project is: firstly, to create an evidence base for No-One -Dies-Alone and secondly, to solve the problem of its timely initiation in Residential Aged Care.
The program aims to ensure that residents in the active dying phase, 24-48 hours prior to death, will have companionship, be it a family member, a friend, or a volunteer. Recognition of the end-of-life transition to active dying, to enable timely and effective intervention, is challenging. The Southern Cross Care No-One-Dies-Alone program will incorporate an innovative evidence-based guideline for recognising the dying process and assist the Registered Nurse/Nurse Manager in determining the best time to initiate companionship.
Based upon a completed needs assessment, the education, training, and the process required will be developed and incorporated into the program that will be implemented at Southern Cross Care WA (SCC). Evaluation will provide the evidence base for the timely and effective implementation of NODA for the future.