13 September 2012 - e-Learning for Healthcare / National End of Life Care Programme / The Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland (APM) This easy-to-follow starter pack is designed to help health and social care staff use the e-learning programme e-ELCA. It includes information on how to register and access the e-learning, as well as step-by-step quick guides, frequently asked questions and case studies. Starter Pack Thumbnail e-ELCA is free to access for health and social care staff delivering end of life care. Commissioned by the Department of Health, it is written and reviewed by clinicians and experts. There are over 150 e-learning sessions available across eight courses: Assessment Advance care planning Communication skills Symptom management Integrating learning Social care Bereavement Spirituality Publication by the National End of Life Programme which became part of NHS Improving Quality in May 2013

1. e-ELCA getting started
and support pack

3. Contents
Page
1. Introduction
4
2. How to register
6
3. Accessing e-ELCA via the e-Learning for Healthcare
Learning Management System
8
3.1 What is the e-LfH LMS?
8
3.2 What does it offer me?
8
3.3 Gaining access
9
3.4 Finding your way around
10
3.5 Accessing your learning
11
3.6 My Activity
12
4. Accessing e-ELCA via Electronic Staff Record (National
Learning Management System)
14
4.1 Log in to the system
14
4.2 Enrol on the course
15
4.3 Play the course
16
5. Frequently Asked Questions
18
6. Case Studies
24
7. Additional Support
32
8. Glossary
34
3

4. 1. Introduction
End of Life Care for All (e-ELCA) is
an e-learning programme which
aims to enhance the training and
education of health and social care
staff and volunteers involved in
delivering end of life care.
and expertise through high quality
learning, in whichever setting they
happen to work in.
The sessions also have a high
degree of flexibility built in,
allowing you to undertake
learning to suit your lifestyle and
at your own pace. You make your
own choices and choose the
sessions that you want to do,
taking as long as you like. Each
session lasts only 20-30 minutes
and you can dip in and out as you
wish. You can learn individually or
with others, using any computer
with internet access.
The programme was commissioned
by the Department of Health and
delivered by e-Learning for
Healthcare (e-LfH), in partnership
with the Association for Palliative
Medicine of Great Britain and
Ireland, to support the
implementation of the
Department of Health’s 2008
national End of Life Care Strategy.
There are over 150 e-learning
sessions available across eight
courses / modules, covering:
• Assessment
• Advance Care Planning
• Communication Skills
• Symptom Management
• Integrating Learning
• Social Care
• Bereavement
• Spirituality
A small number of selected
sessions are also freely available to
volunteers, clerical and
administrative staff on an open
access website:
www.endoflifecareforall.com.
This starter pack aims to help you
get started with e-ELCA and use it
to best suit your own personal and
professional needs. It includes a
DVD containing a number of
useful additional resources and
links, including training
presentations and sample sessions.
Accessibility has been a key driver
in developing the project, enabling
all those involved in end of life
care to improve their confidence
4

5. Viewpoint: e-ELCA in practice
As a new member of the end of
life care team, I was encouraged to
explore e-ELCA.
I completed some sessions with
relatively little effort, others made
me revisit old experiences, and
others built upon knowledge
already acquired. On some
occasions I found myself unable to
stop once I had started - I wanted
to explore more and more!
I’m not really of a generation
where the thought of e-anything is
inspiring, in fact it’s more eworrying. I have completed some
mandatory training online in the
past and did not feel particularly
enthused. After a few teething
problems running the programme,
needing to allow ‘pop-ups’
(whatever they are!), I was ready
to take my first steps.
Each session has a time allocated
to it, but this is flexible. Sometimes
I could power my way through,
others required much more
thought, depending on my own
experience or knowledge.
My first session was the e-ELCA
introduction session. This was
really helpful, giving me a good
idea about what to expect from
the sessions, both their actual
content and how to use them as
part of my personal professional
development.
As a resource I found e-ELCA very
easy to use, with bite sized sessions
enabling me to fit the learning
around my busy schedule and, best
of all, the content was pertinent to
my new role.
I will continue to access this
personal library of learning and I
hope, as part of an extended team,
to use the resource as further
learning for other health care
professionals.
Opening the e-ELCA learning was a
bit of a shock, flicking through a
multitude of sessions from
communication skills and advance
care planning to symptom control.
It did feel a bit overwhelming at
first, but slowly and surely, by
cherry-picking the sessions I felt
more comfortable with, I began to
explore. And eventually I found
myself lost in the e-learning world.
Kay Francis
Community Matron
Oxford Health NHS Foundation
Trust
5

6. 2. How to register
You can register by various routes
depending on your role, or simply
visit the open access website where
a small number of selected elearning sessions are directly
available.
development department, or local
ESR system administrator, to gain
access to e-ELCA via the NLMS.
The NLMS is an e-learning platform
fully integrated with ESR which
means learning can be recorded
against your portable employee
record.
Open access website
A number of e-ELCA e-learning
sessions are available to access
freely and without the need for
registration via
www.endoflifecareforall.com.
Alternatively, if your NHS Trust has
not implemented e-learning
through ESR as part of the NLMS
project, you can access the
materials through the e-LfH
Learning Management System
(LMS). Go to the e-ELCA
registration page to do this:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/eelca/register.html. Please note that
you will require an NHS email
address to register.
Existing e-LfH user
If you have an account with e-LfH
already, simply log in to the e-LfH
Learning Portal
(http://portal.e-lfh.org.uk) using
your existing username and
password. Select the ‘Edit your
profile’ link in the left hand menu
and choose e-ELCA. You can also
add any other programmes you
would like to access.
NHS employees in Northern
Ireland, Scotland or Wales
You can access the materials
through the e-LfH LMS. Go to the
e-ELCA registration page to do
this: www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/
e-elca/register.html. Please note
that you will require an NHS email
address to register.
NHS employees in England
If your NHS Trust has implemented
e-learning through the Electronic
Staff Record (ESR) as part of the
National Learning Management
System (NLMS) project please
speak to your local training and
6

7. Go to the e-ELCA registration page
to do this: www.e-lfh.org.uk/
projects/e-elca/register.html.
Please note that you will require
an NHS email address to register.
Social care professionals in
England
Access to e-ELCA is available to all
social care professionals in England
whose employers are registered
with the Skills for Care National
Minimum Data Set for Social Care
(NMDS-SC). Your employer must be
registered with NMDS-SC for you
to register.
Hospice staff in the UK
All hospices have been invited to
register their staff. For further
details on this or to register your
interest in e-ELCA, please ask your
manager to email elca.support@elfh.org.uk.
Every registered employer can get
a user registration code for their
staff, enabling you to self-register
for access to e-ELCA. Please contact
your employer for more details
about the registration code, and
then go to
www.e-lfh.org.uk/nmds-sc in
order to register.
Other interested parties
Please go to the e-ELCA eIntegrity
registration page where access to
the e-ELCA programme can be
purchased: www.e-lfh.org.uk/
projects/e-elca/register4.html.
If you have registered to access eELCA via the e-LfH LMS you will
receive your username and
password within 24-48 hours.
It is a quick and easy process to
register your organisation with the
NMDS-SC. For more information on
this your employer should contact
the Skills for Care Helpdesk on
0845 8730129.
GPs and practice staff
If you are a GP or work in a GP
practice you can access the
materials through the e-LfH LMS.
7

8. 3. Accessing e-ELCA via the
e-Learning for Healthcare
Learning Management System
3.2 What does it offer me?
Quick Start Guide
The training available to you on
the e-LfH LMS is directly relevant
to your job role or specialty. You
can instantly access high quality,
up to date educational material
from any computer with an
internet connection.
Important: Please use the online
technical checker to ensure your PC
is set up correctly to access the elearning: www.e-lfh.org.uk/
technical_requirements_elfh_LMS.html. You will also be able
to find the online technical checker
and other support materials by
selecting ‘Support’ at the top of
the page within the e-LfH LMS.
3.1 What is the e-LfH LMS?
The e-Learning for Healthcare
Learning Management System (eLfH LMS) is an educational web
based platform that provides
quality assured online training for
the UK’s healthcare workforce.
Programme content has been
created in partnership with the
relevant professional bodies, the
NHS and e-LfH e-learning
specialists. The e-learning
complements existing training
programmes and provides an
excellent source of practical ‘on
the job’ reference information.
8

9. Step 5
If you are a first time user, before
you can gain access you will have
to accept the terms and conditions
by selecting the ‘Accept’ button. If
you have accessed the e-LfH
Learning Management System
before, you will be taken to the
home page.
3.3 Gaining access
Step 1
Access the e-LfH website by typing
www.e-lfh.org.uk into your
internet browser.
Step 2
Select ‘Log in to your e-learning’ in
the top right hand corner of the eLfH home page.
You now have access to high
quality online learning.
Tip: To come directly to this page
in future, save it as a favourite or
bookmark in your internet
browser.
If you have forgotten your account
details or you have a general
support query, please visit
http://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/support.
Step 3
Log in to the e-LfH Learning Portal
using your existing username and
password.
Step 4
Select ‘Launch e-LfH Learning
Management System’ from the left
hand menu.
9

10. 3.4 Finding your way around
1
3
2
7
8
4
5
6
easier to access content you may
need to refer to on a regular basis,
or wish to return to at a later
stage.
1. Home
Contains all the links you need to
access your learning and other
information about the
programmes on which you have
been registered.
5. About My Learning
Offers you more information on
your learning programmes.
2. My Learning
Takes you to the programmes you
have been registered on, and
contains all available courses and
sessions. For more details see
section 3.5 on accessing your
learning.
6. Online Help
Provides support information on
all aspects of the LMS.
7. News
Keeps you up to date on all the
latest developments to your
programmes, as well as important
information regarding e-LfH and
the LMS.
3. Completed Learning
Lists completed courses and
sessions, however e-ELCA has these
all available in My Learning so you
can undertake courses and sessions
as often as you like.
8. Quick Access Panel
A set of links which allows you
quick access to items such as
courses or sessions you have
started, and any messages waiting
for you.
4. Personal Library
You have the option to add elearning sessions or documents
that are available on the system to
your personal library. This makes it
10

11. 3.5 Accessing your learning
competence. It is similar to a
certificate of attendance you
might get for attending a face to
face study event.
When you select My Learning you
will be able to access four tabs: My
Programmes, My Courses, My
Learning Paths and My Sessions –
these contain all of the learning
resources that you have access to.
When you have reached the last
page of the session, close the
internet browser window.
When you select My Learning you
will see a list of programmes.
These programmes contain all the
courses available to you.
Select the programme title, e-ELCA
(End of Life Care), to see the
courses. Once you select the
programme, all the courses within
that programme will appear.
Select one of the courses in eELCA.
By clicking on the Contents icon at
the top of the page, you will see a
list of all the e-learning sessions
within that course.
Select a session title and a new
window will be launched
containing the learning material.
You can print off a certificate
when you complete each session
but remember that this is not
proof of qualification or
11

12. 3.6 My Activity
How to access reports on your learning activity
Once you are logged in to the e-LfH Learning Portal, select the My
Activity link in the left hand menu and follow the simple steps below to
run a report on your learning activity.
Note: My Activity is located within the e-LfH Learning Portal and not the
e-LfH LMS. This is where you got to just before Step 4 in Section 3.3
Gaining Access (see page 9).
1. Choose which report you wish to run in the Report Options panel (in
the e-LfH Learning Portal)
2. You can limit what is included in the report using the Filter Options
panel
• Limit the content using the Programme, Session and Included Activity
drop down controls.
• Define a date range by using the date pickers, entering dates or using
the quick links.
3. Choose how you want to view the report in the Output Options panel
• Choose ‘View on screen’ to see the report in your browser window.
• Choose ‘Open PDF document’ to save your results in a fixed format that
is good for printing, emailing or adding to an online portfolio.
• Choose ‘Download data’ to save your data in a .csv file that you can
open in any spreadsheet application, including Microsoft Excel.
12

13. 1
2
3
Other things you should know
• Any learning you have done today will not be included in the report.
This is because the My Activity page receives data in an overnight feed
from the e-LfH LMS.
• Hover your mouse over the tooltip icons to find out more information
about the different controls on the screen.
13

14. 4. Accessing e-ELCA via
Electronic Staff Record (National
Learning Management System)
‘173’):
Quick start guide
Important: Please use this online
technical checker to ensure your PC
is set up correctly to access the elearning:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/pcche
ck.html.
4. Click onto the e-Learning link to
the right.
4.1 Login to the system
1. Access the log in methods screen
by visiting:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/
login.html

2. Log in to the system by clicking
on the Login to ESR using a
Smartcard link or by clicking on
the Login to ESR link.
You will most likely have to access
the NLMS from a Trust computer
the first time, but you can then
request remote access. Once that
has been approved, you can log in
to the NLMS from any computer
with internet access.
3. Once you have logged in, click
onto the e-Learning User link
(your screen may have a
different number in place of
14

15. added to your list. Please note
that only five courses are
displayed on screen at a time, so
if your new course hasn’t
appeared you may have to use
the
button to find it.
4.2 Enrol on the course
1. Towards the top of the screen,
you can search for courses on
which to enrol, for example ‘end
of life care’.
Important: You only have to enrol
on the course once for it to be
available for you to play.
end of life care
2. Then click on the Go button
3. Click onto the yellow briefcase
icon against the course to enrol
onto it.
4. Click the Apply button on the
right of the screen. A
confirmation message will
display towards the top of the
screen and the course will be
15

16. 4. Important: If there are any
security warnings, it is vital that
you follow the instructions on
the next page of this starter
pack.
4.3 Play the Course
1. Find the course you have
enrolled upon in the list. You
may have to use the
button as only five courses at a
time are displayed on the screen.
5. You must click the Home icon at
the top right of the screen when
you have finished to ensure that
your learning has been recorded
correctly.
2. Click the Play button which is on
the right of the course.
6. You don’t have to complete the
whole course in one go, you can
return to it later and carry on
from where you left off.
3. Each course consists of a number
of e-learning sessions. The first
page of the first session will
appear when you click Play.
Select the + icon in the left hand
panel, to expand the list. You
will find the rest of the elearning sessions within that
course there.
For further information contact
your local training and
development department.
16

17. Steps to follow if you get security warning
messages on your screen
For the following message
opposite, it is vital that you answer
No to ensure that your certificate is
able to print and your successful
completion of the course has been
recorded into the system.
For each of the security messages
opposite, ensure that you tick the
‘Always trust content from this
publisher’ box and then press
either Run or Yes as appropriate.
When accessing a course if you see
the security message opposite,
please press Yes to ensure that all
of the content displays correctly.
17

18. 5. Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is e-Learning for
Healthcare?
Organisations wishing to purchase
multiple licences should email
eintegrity.sales@e-lfh.org.uk.
e-Learning for Healthcare is a
Department of Health programme
working in partnership with the
NHS and professional bodies to
provide high quality e-learning
content for the training of the
healthcare workforce across the
UK. Visit www.e-lfh.org.uk for
more details.
4. What is the curriculum for the
e-ELCA e-learning?
Its various courses comprise
sessions relating to differing
aspects of end of life care services,
and have been developed to meet
the needs of differing levels of
staff working across health and
social care.
2. Who is e-ELCA designed for?
All health and social care workers
within the NHS, hospitals, hospices,
care homes, the community and
other settings where people are
cared for at the end of their lives.
These sessions have been
developed by experts in their
respective fields, drawn from a
range of services and professional
bodies. The Association for
Palliative Medicine of Great Britain
and Ireland holds the intellectual
property rights and currently has
responsibility for review to ensure
that learning is up to date and
relevant. You can download a full
list of courses and sessions at
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/e-elca.
3. Is the e-ELCA e-learning free?
The materials are free to all those
employed by the NHS or hospices
in the UK. Social care professionals
in England also get free access.
Anyone else will need to buy
licences as individuals or through
their employers via the end of life
care registration page:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/
e-elca/register4.html.
18

19. professionals working in Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland,
those employed by a hospice in the
UK and social care professionals in
England. Access via the e-LfH LMS
is also available for NHS staff who
do not have access to the ESR /
NLMS.
5. How do I access the e-learning?
The e-ELCA e-learning is available
through two national e-learning
platforms:
Electronic Staff Record (ESR) as
part of the National Learning
Management System Project
(NLMS) - primarily for NHS
healthcare professionals working
in England.
Anyone else will need to pay for
licences. See the table below to
confirm which platform you should
use.
The e-LfH Learning Management
System (e-LfH LMS) - primarily for
all NHS doctors working in the UK,
all other NHS healthcare
Profession
Country
Platform
NHS Doctor
England
e-LfH LMS
NHS Doctor
Other UK
e-LfH LMS
NHS Nurse*
England
ESR/NLMS
NHS Nurse
Other UK
e-LfH LMS
NHS Therapist/allied health professional*
England
ESR/NLMS
NHS Therapist/allied health professional
Other UK
e-LfH LMS
Hospice staff
England
e-LfH LMS
Hospice staff
Other UK
e-LfH LMS
Social care staff
England
e-LfH LMS
Other - charges apply
Any
e-LfH LMS
* Access via the e-LfH LMS is also available for NHS staff who do not have access to the
ESR / NLMS.
19

20. 6. I am a social care professional in
England, what do I / my employer
need to do to get access to the eELCA e-learning?
7. I work within a hospice in the
UK, what do I need to do to get
access to the e-ELCA e-learning?
All hospices have been invited to
register their staff. For further
details on this or to register your
interest in the e-learning please
ask your manager to email
elca.support@e-lfh.org.uk.
Access to e-ELCA is available to all
social care professionals in England
whose employers are registered
with the Skills for Care National
Minimum Data Set for Social Care
(NMDS-SC).
8. My NHS Trust has implemented
e-learning through ESR as part of
the NLMS project - can I now
access the materials?
Every employer providing NMDSSC workforce information to Skills
for Care can get a user registration
code for their staff. This code
enables you to self-register for
access to e-ELCA. Please contact
your employer for more details
about the registration code.
Yes - speak to your local training
and development department, or
your local ESR system
administrator, to gain access. If you
are still having problems, you can
contact your NLMS Regional
Account Manager:
www.electronicstaffrecord.nhs.uk/
esr-projects/national-learningmanagement-system-project/nlmsaccount-managers/.
It is a quick and easy process to
register your organisation with the
NMDS-SC. For more information on
this your employer should contact
the Skills for Care Helpdesk on
0845 8730129. If you have a
registration code, you can register
by visiting
www.e-lfh.org.uk/nmds-sc.
20

21. 9. My NHS Trust has not
implemented e-learning through
ESR as part of the NLMS project –
how can I access the materials?
Speak to your local training and
development department, or your
local ESR system administrator, to
gain access. If this does not help,
you can contact your NLMS
Regional Account Manager:
www.electronicstaffrecord.nhs.uk/
esr-projects/national-learningmanagement-system-project/nlmsaccount-managers/.
If you are eligible to access the
materials (for example you are
employed by the NHS) but your
Trust has not implemented the
NLMS, you can access the materials
through the e-LfH LMS. Please go
to the end of life care registration
page in order to do this:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/eelca/register.html.
11. How do I find out who my ESR
System Administrator is?
Your training and development
department should know who this
is, so try contacting them first. If
you still can't find the right person,
you can find this out on the ESR
support pages:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/acces
s.html.
You must have an individual NHS
email address, for example your
NHS Trust email or an nhs.net
email address. Your IT department
should be able to help you with
this.
10. How do I find out if my NHS
Trust has implemented e-learning
through ESR as part of the NLMS
project?
12. I don't work for the NHS or a
hospice in the UK or a care home /
social care employer in England
registered with Skills for Care
NMDS, does this mean I have to
pay for access to the e-ELCA elearning?
NHS organisations in England who
utilise ESR have access to the elearning capabilities offered as
part of the National Learning
Management System project; local
policy will determine whether
access has been made available to
employees.
Yes - you can buy licenses through
the end of life care registration
page:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/eelca/register.html.
21

22. 13. I work for / study at a Higher
Education Institution. Does this
mean I have to pay for access to
the e-ELCA e-learning?
• e-LfH Technical Checker:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/technical_req
uirements_e-lfh_LMS.html
• ESR Technical Checker:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/pcc
heck.html
Yes - you can buy licences through
the end of life care registration
page:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/eelca/register.html.
16. I need some technical support who should I contact?
14. Can I obtain a record of
achievement for my completed elearning?
Always contact your own IT
department first as there may well
be a local solution. The technical
checkers available on each
platform should tell you if you
need to install additional software
to access the e-learning. If your IT
department is unable to solve the
problem, it will depend on which
learning platform you will be
using:
Yes – you can print off a certificate
for each session.
Once you are registered on the eLfH LMS you can run a report for
yourself at any time. To find out
how, visit the tutorials page of the
e-LfH website: www.e-lfh.org.uk/
tutorials_elfh_lms.html.
• e-LfH Technical Support:
http://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/
support
For users of e-learning via ESR any
e-learning you complete will
automatically update your
personal training record, which can
be viewed in your Learning History.
• ESR e-Learning/NLMS Project contact your local ESR/NLMS
Lead for assistance
15. Is there a technical checker
online?
17. Can I do the sessions more
than once?
Both the e-LfH LMS and ESR
platforms have a technical checker
online:
Yes - you can undertake the
sessions as many times as you
want.
22

23. 18. Do I have to start the course at
the beginning?
can view and report on learning
activity of their staff.
No - the sessions can be completed
in any order you choose. Some
people may wish to dip into parts
of the session that they feel they
need to increase their knowledge.
Full reports on all learning can
then be produced detailing
classroom and e-learning activity
side by side. Those healthcare
workers who wish to know if their
Trust has access or is getting access
to e-learning in ESR should contact
their Trust's training and
development lead.
19. How can I measure the
competence of staff completing
the course?
These sessions work well as part of
a blended learning approach. eELCA provides one method of
learning along with many others,
such as face-to-face teaching and
role play. Completion of the
courses does not in itself indicate
competence. Competence would
need to be measured using other
appropriate methods to evaluate
learning and its impact on the
delivery of services.
e-LfH LMS
Currently, there is no default
facility on the e-LfH LMS to allow
team leaders for example, to
monitor if users are accessing the
e-learning. The e-LfH team are
reviewing how to make this facility
available. Individuals are able to
produce reports on their own
learning for CPD and other
purposes.
21. Does e-learning count towards
CPD?
20. Can I monitor how many of my
employees are completing the
course?
The Royal College of Physicians
recognises up to 10 personal CPD
points per year where one point
equals one hour of self-directed
learning.
ESR/NLMS
By including e-learning in the ESR
as part of the NLMS project,
training and development
departments and any manager
with access to Manager Self Service
23

24. 6. Case Studies
East of England End of life care ABC
education programme for Group B staff
The ABC education programme is available to all Group B
staff (health and social care professionals who frequently
deal with end of life care as part of their role) in acute and
primary care trusts throughout the East of England.
This free of charge, blended learning programme (e-learning and faceto-face sessions with an identified mentor) makes use of 10 ‘essential’ elearning sessions from the national e-ELCA programme and these
e-learning sessions are now available as a single learning pathway on the
national Oracle Learning Management and the e-Learning for Healthcare
website. This allows much easier access for participants; previously a
frustrating ordeal, with staff often giving up before commencing any
learning.
When e-learning is not suitable in the workplace, workshops are
provided by the ABC facilitators. To date over 1000 Group B staff have
been trained.
The introductory ABC course is designed to be flexible and takes
approximately six hours over six weeks. At the end of the e-learning the
students are encouraged to reflect on their learning to demonstrate the
transition from theory into practice and are invited to take part in a
consolidation workshop.
The ABC programme is being used across a variety of disciplines such as:
GPs; ward, community and hospice staff; and courses are adapted for
learning disability teams and staff working with the homeless
(incorporating national information and statistics and work carried out
by St Mungo’s). The quotes speak for themselves:
24

25. Wow I thought I was empathetic always
and have really learnt to my
embarrassment that I was giving them
my sympathy which could have been
seen as patronising.
GP
This (communication) module made me
think about how and when I say things,
it created discussion in the practice and
has made me aware of the approach
patients take too. I feel more aware of
what they are actually saying to me.
GP
It has made me think a lot about end of
life care in a new light. It is now part of
my care planning.
Staff Nurse,
Intensive Therapy Unit
The way you deal with this (end of life
care) has the effect on family left
behind.
Staff Nurse,
Community Rehabilitation Ward
I learnt to turn a computer on…
Information stuck in my head and I was
able to recall it at the right time.
Hospice Administrative Staff
Gave me more confidence to have
difficult conversations, especially when I
am on my own with the patient. When
they ask me questions I am able to
reflect it back to them with some of the
phrases I learnt such as ‘What makes you
feel that way?’
Hospice Health Care Assistant
Talking about death & dying and ACP
have made me feel more confident in
addressing this area.
Learning Disability Nurse
I did this course on my day off, and it
was the best thing I’ve done on a day
off, EVER! THANK YOU.
Project Worker,
Controlled Drinkers Project
Contact...
Vanessa Convey, Palliative and End of Life Care
Education and Training Programme Manager
East of England Multi-Professional Deanery
vanessa.convey@eoe.nhs.uk
25

26. Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust
Here at Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust we have
developed a new approach to end of life care
education. We are a large Integrated Care Organisation
with two hospital sites and cross boundary primary care is a
large part of our workforce.
Our plan was to develop an education programme which all grades of
staff can access and allows the staff the freedom to choose the level of
education they require for their job and/or interest. We developed the
name ‘Skill Set Challenge’.
The basis of the Skill Set Challenge was the use of e-ELCA as a theoretical
background to all education. By using the eight different ‘branches’ or
subject matters within e-ELCA we grew a ‘tree’ of education.
Each branch of the tree relates to a particular topic, such as symptom
management, and will have a bronze, silver and gold level within.
The e-ELCA sessions within each module have been allocated to a bronze,
silver or gold level, and are being used as the theory to back up face-toface teaching and established courses available within the Trust and
Queenscourt Hospice.
There will be some skills training available within certain levels of the
Challenge and reflective practice and case studies will cement knowledge
already achieved.
Staff will be encouraged to start at a bronze level and work their way
around all the branches of the tree. Once all areas have been covered a
Bronze Award will be presented in the form of a bronze-edged pin
badge depicting an oak tree.
Staff will be able to further their knowledge should they require or wish
by undertaking course work at both silver and gold level. Similar awards
26

27. will be available relating to the level of education achieved. Education
already obtained, by the way of courses undertaken can be evidenced as
part of the new pathway.
Each level will require staff to evidence their achievements by the collection
of certificates of e-ELCA modules completed and any training/courses
attended. This will develop into an end of life care education portfolio.
e-ELCA was the basis for the new approach to end of life care education and
the overwhelming incentive to use the modules was the ease of access, the
quality of education provided and the ability to use/study with e-ELCA at
home, away for the work environment.
Initial trials have proven a positive response and rolled out Trust-wide,
coinciding with the London 2012 Olympics.
Contact...
Elaine S. Deeming
TRANSFORM Clinical Lead
Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust
elaine.deeming@nhs.net
27

28. e-ELCA from the beginning at
Wigan & Leigh Hospice
In January 2010 Wigan & Leigh Hospice were working hard
on developing an e-learning mandatory training
programme that was hospice-specific. We saw the e-ELCA
programme as a way for staff to access quality materials
which would enhance learning regarding end of life care.
We therefore viewed e-ELCA as an excellent prelude to the mandatory
training change and a way of engaging staff in interesting modules
which would capture their interest and raise confidence in computerbased learning. In addition the e-learning format offers greater flexibility
in releasing small numbers of staff for training. It was a ‘win-win’
situation.
Challenges
• How could it be integrated into the working day and how would we
monitor it?
• Availability of adequate IT facilities
• The varying levels of the ability of staff in the use of computers and
how those who were less confident could be supported
• The ability of staff being released from clinical practice to complete
sessions
• Which of the sessions available were most pertinent to each staff
group?
• Maintaining the enthusiasm and momentum
• Not to bombard staff with lots of e-learning
• How to monitor progress?
• All staff would require a hospice email address in order to enable
registration.
Methods
Staff were introduced to e-ELCA at two pre-planned away days. These
days were ideal opportunities to give staff a taste of the programme and
how we envisaged it would be rolled out at the hospice. Staff were then
registered in bulk with the national team.
28

29. Meetings were held to plan the facilities that were required. Extra IT
equipment was ordered, and a room in the education centre was converted
into an e-learning suite with two computers. Two further computers were
installed into the library to make a second e-learning suite.
‘Sign up’ was obtained by the senior management team and team managers
which was pivotal to the success of the roll out of the programme. The
content of the programme was researched by the hospice palliative care
education lead. Staff were split into groups such as doctors, nurses,
specialists and health care assistants. The PCT employed an Allied Health
Professional team who are based at the hospice and were also given access
to the e-ELCA programme at the hospice.
Each group was allocated specific modules to complete. This ensured that
staff completed modules that were most pertinent to their role. The
national end of life care team later circulated suggested group modules,
and there was much relief when the modules suggested by the national
team matched!
All received a lever arch file which contained their passwords, workbooks
and step-by-step guidance on how to negotiate the site. Staff were
allocated dedicated time away from the clinical environment to begin work
on the modules. For example, staff on the inpatient unit were allocated an
hour and this was done on a weekly basis. The team of specialist nurses
booked themselves in on their non-clinical time. Staff were mentored by the
education lead and supported where they felt that they needed it, with
time being booked on a one-to-one basis. This process ran very smoothly.
Positives
• Staff motivation
• Staff valuing the time away from the clinical environment and seeing the
value placed on their individual learning and personal development
• Staff undertaking other programmes of study have reported being able to
‘cross-reference’ elements from e-ELCA into that work
• Introduced another style of learning to staff which up until this point they
were perhaps not as used to as other delivery styles
• Staff were able to see the link to practice, and how learning can enhance
practice
29

30. • The cost effectiveness and flexibility of the programme as a whole. We
have been able to put staff through a large amount of education,
regardless of day or night work within one programme. The e-learning
format also adds to the cost effective element of the programme as
staff were not released for lengthy periods of time to attend training.
• We are the first hospice within the Greater Manchester and Cheshire
Cancer Network to roll out e-ELCA to all clinical staff. The hospice
education lead is now the network champion for e-ELCA in hospices.
What maybe didn’t go too well?
• It proved difficult matching the individual learning needs of senior
clinicians, i.e. doctors and nurse specialists, with the
available/appropriate modules. It was a balance between their right to
identify their own learning needs whilst acknowledging the need for
continuous professional development.
• Initially some of the professional groups struggled a little with some of
the modules that were allocated to them. They felt that the content
was perhaps not appropriate to their role.
Conclusion
Staff appear to have embraced the e-learning and seem to be enjoying it.
The dedication of the managers to allot staff time away to complete the
modules reinforces its importance. The e-learning process, mixed with
didactic delivery, group work and case studies can only enhance staff
learning. The momentum remains and staff continue to feel enthusiastic
about it, with some staff accessing the programme from home. Patient
care can only be enhanced by increased staff knowledge.
30

31. I do enjoy it. Sometimes it’s hard to
switch off if the ward has been busy and
then you go to the e-learning suite. I
find this way of learning useful when
looking at topics such as the Mental
Capacity Act, and then answering some
questions, which confirms if it has sunk
in. I find that if I am looking at such
topics in the classroom environment I
tend to switch off.
Health Care Assistant
It is extremely useful to my role, but also
to the work I am doing in my NVQ.
Health Care Assistant
I feel that it is a good way of learning
and is definitely useful to practice. I
particularly liked the information on
how to construct a genogram and the
section on family and carer issues.
Staff Nurse
It’s easy to follow and easy to navigate
through the modules. The content is very
applicable to practice and I feel is
certainly enhancing and adding to my
knowledge.
Staff Nurse
Contact...
Sarah Owens
Palliative Care Education Lead
Wigan & Leigh Hospice
01942 525566 ext. 248
31

32. 7. Additional support
• e-LfH LMS:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/
support_elfh_LMS.html
Technical Checkers
Both the e-LfH LMS and ESR
platforms have a technical checker
online:
• ESR / NLMS:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/
doc/Users.html
• e-LfH Technical Checker:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/technical_
requirements_e-lfh_LMS.html
Tutorials
Step-by-step tutorials are available
on how to use:
• ESR / NLMS Technical Checker:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/
pccheck.html
• e-LfH LMS:
www.e-lfh.org.uk/
support_elfh_LMS.html
Quick Start Guides
Two page step-by-step Quick Start
Guides on how to access and use
the e-learning on both the eLearning for Healthcare LMS and
Electronic Staff Record / NLMS
have been included in this pack, in
Section 3 and Section 4
respectively. The guides can also be
found at:
• ESR / NLMS:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/nlms/de
mo/demos.html
Technical Support
Always contact your own IT
department first as there might
32

33. well be a local solution. The
technical checkers available on
each platform should tell you if
you need to install additional
software to access the e-learning.
If your IT department is unable to
solve the problem, it will depend
on which learning platform you
will be using:
• e-LfH Technical Support:
http://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/
support
• ESR / NLMS: Contact your local
ESR / NLMS Lead for assistance
e-LfH users can get more support
information from: www.elfh.org.uk/support_elfh_LMS.html
ESR / NLMS users can get more
support information from:
www.esrsupport.co.uk/
nlms/index.htm
33

34. 8. Glossary
End of Life Care for All (e-ELCA)
Wide-ranging e-learning
programme which aims to enhance
the training and education of
health and social care staff and
volunteers involved in delivering
end of life care.
Department of Health, NHS
Connecting for Health, Skills for
Health - Core Learning Unit
and e-Learning for Healthcare. It
provides access to a wide variety of
e-learning courses, covering a
range of subject matters, free of
charge.
e-Learning for Healthcare Learning
Management System (e-LfH LMS)
An educational web-based
platform that provides quality
assured online training for the
UK’s healthcare workforce.
Association of Palliative Medicine
of Great Britain and Ireland (APM)
The national association of doctors
who work in specialist palliative
medicine or who have an interest
in palliative care. It exists to
promote the advancement and
development of palliative medicine
- the APM currently has
responsibility for review to ensure
that the e-ELCA programme is up
to date and relevant.
Electronic Staff Record (ESR)
The integrated Human Resources
(HR), Payroll and Learning
Management system used by the
NHS in England and Wales. ESR
also provides access to e-Learning
in England.
End of Life Care Strategy (2008)
The Department of Health’s
strategy promoting high quality
care for all adults at the end of life
- the first for the UK, aiming to
improve the quality of care for
people approaching the end of
life.
National Learning Management
System (NLMS)
The project initiated to define the
requirements and deliver eLearning functionality for the NHS,
jointly developed by the Electronic
Staff Record Programme (ESR), the
34

35. Learning Path
A group of sessions around a
particular role or area of work,
recommended for you to work
through.
Skills for Care National Minimum
Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC)
The NMDS-SC gathers information
about the social care sector,
including service and workforce
information, to aid employers,
commissioners, policy makers and
funding agencies.
Session
Single piece of learning containing
interactive tasks, images,
animations and video.
Learning Management System
(LMS)
The web-based platform that
delivers and tracks your online
learning.
Programme
Complete set of learning materials
and supporting content covering a
specialty, such as Anaesthetics, or
subject, such as End of Life Care for
All.
Course (or module)
A set of sessions that are grouped
together.
35

36. www.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/e-elca
Published by the National End of Life Care Programme
ISBN:
Programme ref:
Publication date:
Review date:
978 1 908874 19 1
PB0030 A 09 12
Sept 2012
Sept 2014
© National End of Life Care Programme (2012)
All rights reserved. For full Terms of Use please visit
www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk/terms-of-use
or email information@eolc.nhs.uk. In particular
please note that you must not use this product or
material for the purposes of financial or commercial
gain, including, without limitation, sale of the
products or materials to any person.