Blog post - Standard One: Assessment of Needs

Standard One: Assessment of Needs
Accurate, comprehensive, and timely assessments guide clinical decision-making and influence how care is delivered and perceived. In palliative care, assessing a person’s needs ensures that care reflects what matters most to them and their support networks.

How can you embed this standard in your day-to-day practice?

Start with a holistic approach
Go beyond physical symptoms. A comprehensive assessment includes a person’s psychological, cultural, social, and spiritual needs. These elements form the basis of holistic assessment and could influence positively on how the person experiences care. Simple, open questions like “What matters most to you right now?” can open the door to meaningful and informed conversations that supports person-centred care and decision-making.

Empower the person and their support network
Invite the person, their family, and carers to be actively involved in the assessment process. Use language that empowers choice: “We want to make sure your care reflects your wishes – what’s important for us to know?”

Coordinate and communicate
Often, more than one clinician provides care. Coordination is key to reducing duplication and burden for the person and their family and carers. Ensure that the assessment is coordinated communicated effectively among the treating team and documented through digital health records. Inform the person, their family, and carers with clear information on how and whom to contact when there is a change in their illness or circumstances.

Reassess regularly
Needs change. Reassess the person’s needs on a regular basis, especially when there are noticeable changes in their condition. As complexity increases and palliative care becomes involved, a person’s needs and priorities may shift again. This is a dynamic process that continues throughout end-of-life care. Assessment of needs informs the person’s care plan, ensuring it reflects a person-centred and holistic approach that incorporates physical, psychological, cultural, social, and spiritual needs.

Using Palliative Care Self-Assessment (PaCSA)
Does your service meet the elements of Standard One?
Now is the perfect time to reflect on your practice—celebrate your team’s strengths and uncover opportunities for growth.
Specialist providers: Download the Individual Checklist for Standard One to assess your service in detail.
Non-specialist providers: Use the Reusable Checklist to gather insights that drive quality improvement and support accreditation requirements.
Start today and take the next step toward delivering consistent, high-quality palliative care.