Palliative Care Needs Assessment (PCNA) and the new PCNA eLearning Programme Webinar

A video recording and supporting resources are now available

A video recording and supporting resources are now available from the ‘Palliative Care Needs Assessment (PCNA) and the new PCNA eLearning Programme Webinar’ which took place on the 12 September 2024, see (Link).

The Palliative Care Needs Assessment Guidance is available here.

All professionals are strongly encouraged to undertake the eLearning programme and to use the PCNA as part of their practice. The PCNA programme is on HSeLanD

The PCNA is a tool developed to support professionals in assessing the current and future palliative care needs of patients with life-limiting conditions. The primary outcome of a PCNA is to identify current needs and create an appropriate care plan to meet those needs.

The new 1 hour eLearning Programme aims to ensure that people with palliative care needs will have the needs of greatest concern to them identified and responded to by skilled and confident staff across all care settings. It is aimed at all health and social care professionals including those:

• Who provide the palliative care approach (Level 1, e.g., every clinician at hospital and community level)
  Who provide general palliative care (Level 2, e.g., healthcare professionals who, although not engaged full time in palliative care, have had some additional training and experience in palliative care)

The webinar highlighted how and when the PCNA should be used, and how it can support and enhance the care provided to people with life limiting conditions. 

The following presented at the webinar:

• Dr Feargal Twomey, Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Milford Hospice and the UL Hospitals Group, Limerick, Adjunct Senior Clinical Lecturer at UL’s Graduate Entry Medical School and Clinical Lead, National Clinical Programme for Palliative Care
• Martina O’Reilly, Programme Manager, National Clinical Programme for Palliative Care
• Winifred Ryan, National Healthcare Communication Programme

The eLearning programme was commissioned by the National Clinical Programme for Palliative Care. The development of the programme group was guided by a steering group which included clinicians from acute hospitals, general practice, primary care, the nursing home sector, education providers and Specialist Palliative Care services. The All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) were partners in the development of the eLearning programme.

For further information see (Link) Please also see the PCNA information leaflet for further information  (Link) and the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Template (Link)