AMBER Care Bundle
The AMBER care bundle is a systematic approach for the multidisciplinary team to follow when clinicians are uncertain whether a patient may recover. It encourages clinicians, patients and families to continue with treatment, in the hope of a recovery, whilst talking openly about preferences and wishes, and putting plans in place in preparing for end of life. It is not a last days of life plan.
This toolkit provides information, resources and quality improvement (QI) tools for managers and clinicians to improve care of dying patients in NSW health services. The resources may be adapted to suit local needs that is, for initial implementation, to review and improve current practices or support current practice
The AMBER care bundle supports best practice when caring for patients whose recovery is uncertain.
Two questions identify patients who would benefit from the AMBER care bundle.
- Is the patient rapidly deteriorating, clinically unstable and with limited reversibility? AND
- Is the patient at risk of dying during this episode of care despite treatment?
If the multidisciplinary team agree the answer is "Yes" to both then proceed to support care using the AMBER care bundle
To join the AMBER Quality Improvement Community of Practice (hosted via the Quality Improvement Data System - QIDS) the project team must first complete the online registration form. Following this, the CEC will add the project team to the Improvement Project in QIDS.
Via QIDS, project teams will be able to:
- Access additional resources and QI tools, including AMBER care bundle specific examples
- Manage their own improvement project
- Collaborate with other teams undertaking improvement around early recognition of patients approaching the end of life.
The 
icon is used throughout the toolkit to indicate when and how to use QIDS for your improvement project.