Assessing Signs and Symptoms: Proportion of Adult Deaths With Documented Evidence That It Was Recognised That the Person Was in the Last Days of Life

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Palliative Care
Country
United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
Publishing Organisation
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Care of Dying Adults in the Last Days of Life Quality Standard
Type of Quality Indicator
Outcome
IOM Quality Dimension
Effectiveness
Domain
Physical Aspects of Care

Defining Attributes

Definition

Adults who have signs and symptoms that suggest they may be in the last days of life are monitored for further changes to help determine if they are nearing death, stabilising or recovering.

Numerator

The number in the denominator in which the care records show it was recognised that the adult was in the last days of life.

Denominator

The number of adult deaths.

Exclusions
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications

Data Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Electronic/paper chart records
Data Collection Methods

Local data collection. National and trust level data on people who died in hospital for whom it was recognised that they would probably die in the coming hours or days are reported in the Royal College of Physicians' End of life care audit – Dying in hospital report for England.

Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools

Linked to: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 144: Care of dying adults in the last days of life (www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs144) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) National Guideline: Care of dying adults in the last days of life (www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng31).

Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
No
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025