Doctor honoured for work on end-of-life care
A FORMER GP who helped transform the way patients are treated in their final months has been made an OBE by Princess Anne during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Dr Keri Thomas, who founded the UK’s largest provider of end-of-life-care training, is credited with improving the lives of a million people.
She set up the Shrewsbury-based Gold Standards Framework, which lays down nationally recognised standards for organisations which provide care for people approaching the end of their lives.
Dr Thomas travelled to the Palace last week with husband the Rev Mark Thomas, son Ben, and daughter Megan Baldwin.
Dr Thomas said she was delighted the work of her non-for-profit company had been recognised in this way.
"It was a very special day," she said.
"We were given a limousine for the day by the Royal College of GPs, and that was fun.
"It was hard to take it all in, it is recognition of the work of the past 17 years in creating the Gold Standards Framework.
"It is not just for me, but for all the people who have worked with us."
Dr Thomas was working as a GP when she became unhappy about how the NHS treated people in their last few months.
She formed the not-for-profit Gold Standards Framework 17 years ago, which set down a series of criteria for end-of-life care, and delivered training courses for both NHS and social care staff.
Dr Thomas, who is 60, is also an honorary professor in end of life care at Birmingham University, and has written books on the subject.
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “Keri Thomas is one of the most influential figures in palliative care and, through her development of the Gold Standards Framework, she transformed end-of-life care in many care homes, hospitals, and primary care services.
“The passion and commitment shown by Dr Thomas over many years, as a clinician, thought leader and champion of palliative care, has made a real difference to countless lives, and she is truly deserving of this honour.”
Gold Standards Framework is based in St Austin Friars, Shrewsbury, and teaches GPs, care homes and hospital staff how to identify people approaching the final months of life, engage them in conversations about their wishes and preferences and then plan and manage their care on that basis.
It is responsible for training in about 2,500 care homes and 84 hospitals around Britain, and lays down nationally recognised standards of good practice.
It also provides training in countries as far afield as Australia, Canada and Japan, and has been approached about improving end-of-life care services in China, where 119 million people are over the age of 65.
