Sadly one percent of the population will die each year.
GPs are encouraged to identify these patients and hold a palliative care register to support end of life care.
The GSF helps in this process with the aim of identifying people who may be approaching the end of their life, to provide assessment of their needs and actively plan for the future to enable both living and dying well when the time comes.
GP practices, hospitals and care homes use the GSF to help to provide an increase level of support and priority to patients identified and to help in advance care planning. Patients who are on the GSF will have their records flagged and a multidisciplinary team meets regularly to discuss their care. This helps to ensure care is cross-boundary and helps to prevent people falling through the cracks, reduce crisis calls and time in hospital and helps more people to live and later die at home or in their care home, if that is their wish.