Patients and Carers

Information for Patients, Families and Carers

Welcome to the National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) patient and carers’ information page. If you are looking at this page because of a recent bereavement, we want to extend our heartfelt condolences to you and your loved ones during this difficult time. We hope the information on this page is helpful, any feedback you have is greatly received via this link.

If you need support, click here to jump to our bereavement resources.

What is NACEL?

NACEL looks at how well hospitals care for people who are dying (aged 18 and over). It also looks at how well they support family, friends and carers.

This happens in hospitals in England, Wales and Jersey.

NACEL collects information about care in the following ways:

  1. Bereavement Survey: An online survey completed by relatives, carers and those important to the person who died in hospital about their experiences of the care and support received at the end of life.

  2. Case Note Review: This is data collected from patient notes about the care they received during their final admission to hospital.

  3. Hospital Level Survey: Questions focus on the service availability within the hospital/site.

  4. Staff Survey: An online survey completed by hospital/site staff about their confidence and experience in delivering care at the end of life.

Each year, hospitals are shown how their care compares to others in the country and what areas of care could be improved.

Up to date information from NACEL is shown in the Patient and Carer Data Tool.

Previous reports can be found below, or from the Outputs page.

Bereavement resources

Here is a list of some resources you may find helpful during this difficult time, to find out more please click on the link.

Hospice UK
Access to a free national confidential bereavement support line, operated by Hospice UK, available from 8:00am – 8:00pm, seven days a week. Telephone: 0300 303 4434

Anne Robson Trust
A charity working to help people receive the comfort, connection, and understanding they and those close to them need at the end of life. For advice and support visit the resource section of their website here.

Mind
Bereavement support - Understanding grief and bereavement (including from suicide), how to manage and where to get help.

Cruse Bereavement
Resources and helpline, Monday – Friday: 9.30am-3pm, Telephone: 0808 808 1677

The Good Grief Trust
Advice and support for recently bereaved