The Challenge
The last days, weeks and months of life are precious. Using routinely collected data it is possible to start revealing proxy markers of bad outcomes and specifically sub-optimal use of time, both for individuals and also health and care systems more broadly.
Working with the Dorset Integrated Care System (ICS), Sollis identified all residents in Dorset who died in the period June 2021 – June 2022 and examined their last twelve months of life (see Fig 1 below). One measure we analysed was the number of emergency admissions to hospital by month. There is a significant rise in the use of the urgent care pathway in the last three months of life, which many stakeholders across the ICS believe to be impactable.
