End of Life Care

Royal College of Nursing (2016) When someone asks for your assistance to die: RCN guidance on responding to a request to hasten death

• View page

RCN Learning resource: End of life care and wellbeing for the nursing and midwifery workforce

• Online learning resource for nursing staff:
  View page

RCN: Getting it right every time: the fundamentals of nursing care at the end of life

• Online learning resource for nursing staff:
  RCN: Getting it right every time: the fundamentals of nursing care at the end of life

Marie Curie (2019) Caring for LGBTQ+ people at the end of life. 

• View article

NHS (2021): End of life care.

• Information aimed at the public
  NHS (2021): End of life care.

Royal College of Nursing (2015) Getting it right every time: fundamentals of nursing care at the end of life. London: RCN.

• View page

Review of Choice in End of Life Care Programme Board (2015) What’s important to me. A review of choice in end of life care. London: DH.

• View page

Department of Health (2016) Our commitment to you for end of life care. The government response to the review of choice in end of life care. London: DH.

• View page

Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Bevan Foundation (2014) Death and dying in Wales: an analysis of inconsistencies in access to specialist palliative care and hospital activity in the last year of life.Penarth: Marie Curie Cancer Care.

• View PDF

Care Quality Commission (Great Britain) (2016) A different ending: end of life care review. Care Quality Commission, London

• View PDF

NHS England (2017) Delivering high quality end of life care for people who have a learning disability. 

• View article

Nursing and Midwifery Council (2016) End of life care: our position. London: NMC.

• View page

Department of Health (2017) The route to success in end of life care in acute hospitals your guide. London: DH.

• View page

We would like to thank the RCN Pain and Palliative Care member community for their input into the development of this subject guide.

Acquaviva K D (2017) LGBTQ-Inclusive Hospice and Palliative Care: A Practical Guide to Transforming Professional Practice. La Verne: Perseus Book LLC (Ingram).

• Access through RCN Library

Allen R S, Carpenter B D and Eichorst M K (2018) Perspectives on palliative and end-of-life care: disease, social and cultural context. Abingdon: Routledge.

• Access through RCN Library

Bardy S (2016) Choosing end of life nursing. Adelaide: ATF Press. 

• Access through RCN Library

Blackmore T and Parker G (2020) Community palliative care and COVID-19: a handbook for clinicians who care for palliative patients with COVID-19 in community settings. Class Professional Publishing: Bridgwater.

• Access through RCN Library

Cooper D B and Cooper J (2018) Palliative Care within Mental Health: Ethical Practice, Taylor and Francis.

• Access through RCN Library

Costello J (2019) Adult palliative care for nursing, health and social care. London: Sage Publications.

• Access through RCN Library

Lombard J (2018) Law, palliative care and dying: legal and ethical challenges. Abingdon: Routledge. 

• Access through RCN Library

Mannix  K (2017) With the end in mind: dying, death and wisdom in an age of denial. London: William Collins.

• Access through RCN Library

Matzo M L & Sherman D W (2018) Palliative care nursing: quality care to the end of life. New York: Springer.

• Access through RCN Library

Nicol J (2017) Palliative and end of life care in nursing, London: Sage.

• Access through RCN Library

Rose I and Ryan K (2016) Doorways into dying: innovative teachings for end of life. London: Austin Macauley.

• Access through RCN Library

Shapiro S P (2019) Speaking for the dying: life-and-death decisions in intensive care. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.

• Access through RCN Library

Use these links to see details of books the RCN libraries hold on each topic.

• End of life care
• Death and dying
• Nursing older people
• Palliative care
• Terminal care

Use these links for details of journal articles on each topic.

• Death and dying
• End of life care
• Nutrition and hydration at the end of life
• Palliative Care
• Terminal care

Journals of interest for end of life care. Use these links to see details of availability.

• Bereavement Care
• Open access journal:
  BMC Palliative Care
• British Journal of Community Nursing
• Death studies
• International Journal of Palliative Nursing
• Journal of Palliative Care
• Primary Healthcare

Royal College of Nursing (no date) Care home journey. RCN.

• View page

Royal College of Nursing (2021) Profile: Lisa Cartwright, Specialist Palliative Care Community Nurse.

• Royal College of Nursing (2021) Profile: Lisa Cartwright, Specialist Palliative Care Community Nurse

Social Care Institute for Excellence (2014) End of life care: achieving dignity for those with dementia, Great Britain: Social Care TV (video).

Social Care Institute for Excellence (2014) and palliative care: Thinking about the words we use, Great Britain: Social Care TV (video).