This DVD Toolkit is for healthcare educators working to engage and inspire staff who need to become more aware, comfortable or confident in supporting patients and families in planning ahead for their future care (advance care conversations and planning).

The DIY Facilitator Toolkit brings the top tools and facilitator guides used in our Simple Tools to Start the Conversation enhanced communication skills workshops delivered to more than 2000 staff in 11 NHS areas across the UK including multi-disciplinary teams and those geared specifically to GP’s, Community Nurses, Care Home staff and those working in Dementia, Memory Clinics, Renal and Cardiac Care.

“We were requiring teams to start end of life conversations with their patients, yet missed the first hurdle. They were afraid of starting these conversations themselves.’–NHS Commissioner

This Facilitator Toolkit includes:
* Breaking the Silence, DVD
* 20 packs of the Conversation Game
* Handouts with facilitator notes to engage your delegates in 7 separate tools to help start the conversation, including sharing the DVD, exploring patient wishes and values, applying a spiritual assessment, a 6 part framework for conversations and a conversation template. Two nationally endorsed documents are also included.

• Introduces staff to 7 individual ‘tools’ for use in assisting staff to engage inconversations with patients/families and/or to pick up clues that may otherwise be missed.
• Experiential exercises; Personal reflection; Capturing key lessons learned; Action items/skills learned to implement with team or with patients/post workshop.

• Increased personal commitment and confidence aligned with tools can be used to cascade awareness and learning to staff teams and MDT following the course.

• 12-minute film including excerpts of patient/family stories to inspire others to start conversations earlier including those with lived experience of dementia, cardiac, stroke and cancer and a child’s perspective.
• Experience from patient/family perspectives; reinstills messages from workshop; Key messages and framework of workshop integrated in video.

• Can be used by delegates post workshop at staff meetings and/or as another tool to assist with family discussions in some situations.

• Evidence based and pilot tested deck of 36 values and wishes when facing end of life now being used by staff and families across the UK.
• Facilitates personal and professional awareness of patient-centered wishes and preferences, enhances listening skills and provides an external tool for initiating conversations or leaving behind for patient/family discussions.
• Can be used with patients and families to start/consider wishes and values; lessons learned can be used to initiate conversations.

• Nationally approved document to assist patients/families to consider aspects of planning for future care needs.
• Assists staff to become familiar with opportunities to introduce and support patients/families to planning for future care/acp.
• Can be ordered for service distribution.

• Trainers Guide
• 150 page detailed guide with course background, powerpoint slides, step-by-step facilitator notes, timings, experiential exercises with sample delegate responses, evaluation forms, day of event signage, and sample quotes/outcomes from staff.
• “Breaking the Silence” DVD for use in workshops
• 16 packs of The Conversation Game for use in workshops
• Annotated delegate pack for integration of workshop materials with delegate experience.

• Step by step manual for use in training your staff in our approach and materials
• Experience of tools from both a delegate and facilitator perspective enhances facilitation skills post initial training.
• Reference manual for on-going practice and additions.

• Gain tools and tips for advance care conversations with patients, families and other staff in your team or organisation
• Explore personal and professional beliefs and challenges around advance care conversations and planning
• Strengthen confidence and competence in talking with patients/clients about their wishes
• Support personal capacity for person-centered conversations and care
• Improve confidence to engage in these conversations with others in a positive way (personally or professionally)
• Improve work practices
• Leave with tools and tips to start or continue raising awareness
• 1:1 with patients, clients, carers and families in your service or community
• Leave with our trademarked and tested products for use with clients/patients.
• Leave with nationally approved resources/forms to refer to /use with clients patients.
• Leave with on-going information source with links via our website.
• Understand how this workshop and awareness is a part of regional and national initiatives.