Patients and Carers
Welcome to the NACEL patient and carers’ information page. If you are taking part in NACEL 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 helps to highlight the importance of NACEL and how much your contribution can truly make a difference to care at the end of life. You can also find bereavement resources on this page, if you need some support during this time.
What is NACEL?
NACEL stands for the National Audit of Care at the End of Life. It is a national audit in England and Wales that assesses the quality of care for dying people (aged 18 and older) during their final hospital admission. It covers acute hospitals, community hospitals, and mental health inpatient facilities.
NACEL collects data from four sources:
1. Patient and Carers survey: This is an online survey completed by relatives, carers and those important to the person who died in hospital, to report their experiences of the care and support received at the end of life. You may have seen posters or leaflets around the hospital or have been asked by a member of staff if you would be interested in taking part.
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 specialist palliative care workforce, staff training, anticipatory prescribing and quality and outcomes within the hospital/site.
4. Staff survey: this survey is completed by staff who are most likely to come into contact with dying patients and their loved ones. The survey asks questions about staff confidence and experience in delivering care at the end of life, the support they receive and the culture of their workplace.
Key audit findings
Each year, the data that has been collected is pulled together into
Summary report: a report detailing all of the key findings from each round of the audit
Infographic: a visual summary of the key findings
Appendices: contains additional information not in the summary report
Good Practice Compendium: a document containing examples of good practice and quality improvement across the organisations taking part in NACEL
Patient and Carers summary report: a short report to summarise the results
The Patient and Carers reports for each year can be found below. If you’d like to see the other outputs mentioned above, you can find them on our Outputs page.
Bereavement resources
Below 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 helpline providing support to people who are dying, and their families and friends. It is also available to anyone working with people who are dying (e.g. NHS staff, care home staff, or carers). Trained helpline volunteers are there to listen, Monday to Friday 12-6pm, 0808 801 0688. Calls are completely free from all UK landlines and mobiles.
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