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Palliative Care Education Framework (image)

13 Nov 2025

Social service workforce Your learning

Palliative Care Education Framework gets a refresh for 2025

We’ve worked in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to refresh the Palliative Care Education Framework to bring it in line with the vision of the new Scottish Government palliative care strategy and delivery plan for 2025 – 2030.

The framework

The updated framework replaces the previous one first published in 2017 and aims to enrich and improve experiences for people of all ages receiving palliative care.

The framework is divided into different topics including:

  • fundamentals of palliative care
  • communications and conversations
  • care planning and delivery
  • care around dying
  • loss, grief and bereavement.

You can find the updated framework on our Learning Zone here.

What’s changed

We’ve made changes to reflect current health and social care practice and made the guidance easier to follow with a learner centred approach. It can be adapted for self-directed learning or within a more formal organisational or group setting.

We updated the language in line with the Scottish Government palliative care strategy referring to care around dying instead of end of life care and it focuses on what matters to each person, regardless of age, to help them live as well as possible with life shortening conditions.

What’s next?

We’re developing a new Palliative Care Learning Hub with NES to accompany the framework. It’s due to launch in early 2026 and will bring key palliative care learning resources into one place.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the updated framework and are interested in testing the new hub, please contact  workforceplanning@sssc.uk.com

Useful links

Palliative Care Education Framework

Palliative care strategy (2025–30)

Palliative care strategy initial delivery plan

Contact information

Nichola Stark
Communications Officer
Scottish Social Services Council
media@sssc.uk.com