Latest news

18 May 2017

The SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop has been evaluated by The University of Northampton Institute of Health and Wellbeing, as one component in a series of multi-professional and multi-agency training courses run, to ensure the delivery of high quality services to frail and older people in Northampton.

The Northamptonshire Local Education and Training Council (LETC) received funding from Health Education England to run and evaluate a suite of training courses (including SAGE & THYME) centred around: prevention and enabling self-care; geriatric assessment and personalised care planning; management of long term conditions; and end of life care.

The SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop was delivered by the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.  The University’s report highlighted that the SAGE & THYME (S&T) workshop “engenders a sense that this was a well presented, easy to follow communication course which could be applied to practice easily”.

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8 May 2017

Today marks the start of the annual Dying Matters Week, designed to raise awareness about the importance of talking about and planning dying, death and bereavement.

To coincide with this campaign, we have a series of Tweets available @SAGEandTHYME_ that highlight: why advance care planning is important; what clinicians are thinking before they discuss an advance care plan with patients and their carers; what the SAGE & THYME for Advance Care Planning workshop covers; and the outcomes of the training.

2 March 2017

Oxford University Press have recently published the second edition of the 'Oxford Textbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care', which contains a whole chapter on the SAGE & THYME model, written by Michael Connolly (the lead developer of the SAGE & THYME training).

The chapter covers:

• the background to the development of the SAGE & THYME model
• foundation level communication skills and how they are taught in cancer nursing
• a description of the model and the workshop and the evidence and justification behind each element
• the evidence on the impact of the workshop on communication knowledge and skills
• and how the SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop can be adopted by other organisations.

13 February 2017

The SAGE & THYME team ran another successful webinar on ‘how to generate senior support for your SAGE & THYME training programme’ last week.

The webinar featured guest speakers: Sue Heatley from Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) and Vicki McLoughlin from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (SRFT).  It was presented by Mike Connolly and hosted by Joanne Thomas from the SAGE & THYME team.

Sue and Vicki talked about how they gained senior support and how they have continued to maintain this.  Mike then ran through a list of lessons learnt from other organisations and covered some dos and don’ts.

The recording of the webinar is now available here.

• Provide a forum/opportunity for SAGE & THYME facilitators to consider how to generate senior support
• Showcase successful influencers
• Demystify influencing activity
• Showcase influencing strategies and plans
• Present a ‘Do and Don’t’ list

5 January 2017

The Nursing Times has just published a review on the benefits and barriers of ensuring patients with life-limiting diseases have advance care planning. Advance care planning allows people to be more aware of that they may die, consider their options, and make choices about their end of life care whilst they still have the capacity to do so. It also increases the use of palliative care services, which focuses on symptom management and can increase quality of life for the patient and their family.

The report highlights that despite the benefits of advance care planning, a recent survey found that only 5% of people have an advance care plan or living will. The barriers to discussing end of life include: the difficulty in initiating conversations; lack of clarity regarding which healthcare professional is responsible; determining when the discussion is needed; the worry about upsetting the patient; and knowing which documents to use to record the patient's wishes.

The review explains that it is important that nurses and doctors have the right training so that they can initiate and manage conversations about advance care planning. The SAGE & THYME for Advance Care Planning and End of Life Care workshop gives clinicians an evidence-based, memorable, structured approach that they can immediately use with their patients.

1 December 2016

Today we are launching our first Twitter campaign to promote the SAGE & THYME model and the SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop.  We will be posting daily tweets for about 3 weeks.

Please follow our campaign!

Our Twitter handle is @SAGEandTHYME_.  Please retweet our messages and use the following hashtags for comments and questions: #SAGEandTHYME and #SAGEandTHYMEtraining.

22 November 2016

The Nursing Times has published (on 21 Nov) two articles on listening skills for nurses: the first (part 1) describes how the SAGE & THYME model can be used as a 'satellite navigation system' to listen and respond to patients' concerns; and the second (part 2) provides exercises to practice listening skills for revalidation.  The articles were written by Mike Connolly, the lead developer of SAGE & THYME.

10 November 2016

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a guide to planning and implementing palliative care services, which puts communication skills at the core of such services.  The WHO recommends that communication skills training is received by: untrained and trained community-based volunteers, community health workers, hospital-based doctors and nurses for adult and children’s services,  paediatric auxiliary nurses, paediatric social workers, teachers, chaplains and neonatologists.

The SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop can provide the competencies needed by providing non-advanced communication skills training.

The sample curriculum for a 16 hour training programme for community volunteers suggests that they have 6 hours covering: basics of communication, breaking bed news, addressing emotional reactions and offering emotional support.  The SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop lasts only 3 hours and covers the basics of communication, addressing distress and concerns and teaches how to offer patient-centred emotional support.

24 October 2016

The Academy of Fabulous Stuff is devoted to sharing ideas and best practice in the NHS.  The aim is to make NHS services "better, quicker, safer, more reliable and cost effective".

The SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop teaches evidence-based effective communication skills regarding how to notice distress, hear concerns and respond helpfully and it is suitable for the whole work force.

The SAGE & THYME for advance care planning (ACP) and end of life conversations teaches senior staff how to open a conversation about dying, listen to patients, respond to their distress and support them using an evidence-based patient-focussed approach.

Both the SAGE & THYME foundation level and ACP workshops are now being disseminated around the NHS via the Academy of Fabulous Stuff web site.

10 October 2016

Recruiting and engaging patients in research, is a skilled activity because patients have worries and fears about their illnesses.  Researchers have set questions, but starting the conversation with patients and responding to worries, requires specific training.

The North West London Clinical Research Network commissioned some SAGE & THYME foundation level workshops for their research staff to attend.  The staff rated their willingness to talk to people who are emotionally troubled between 8 and 10 (out of 10) after attending the workshop and 84% said would recommend the workshop to others.  

Dr Gill Hood, Workforce Development and Patient Public Initiatives for the NWL CRN said: “We had had numerous requests to provide training on informed consent and communicating with distressed patients.  The requests came from all different types of clinical research staff and this course met the needs for all of them.  I have confidence in recommending it to other research networks.”

26 September 2016

The recording of the evidence behind each element of the SAGE & THYME model and also the impact of the SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop is now available.  The webinar was hosted by Dr Joanne Thomas and presented by Mike Connolly and Dr Simon Cocksedge.

To access the recording, please click here.