Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2006
Comparative StudyNational survey of end-of-life decisions made by UK medical practitioners.
This study estimates the frequency of different end-of-life decisions (ELDs) in medical practice in the UK, compares these with other countries and assesses doctors' views on the adequacy of current UK law. ⋯ The lower relative rate of ELDs involving doctor-assisted dying in the UK, and the relatively high rate of non-treatment decisions, suggests a culture of medical decision making informed by a palliative care philosophy.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2006
Multicenter StudyHypoactive delirium: assessing the extent of the problem for inpatient specialist palliative care.
Delirium is a common problem and cause of distress among patients with palliative care needs. The focus to date has been on managing the patient with agitated, hyperactive delirium, as these patients are very noticeable within the palliative care setting. This study in two parts shows that palliative care patients with agitated delirium are a minority of the total proportion of those with delirium. ⋯ Part II: 8 specialist palliative care units took part in a point prevalence study of delirium over a 48-hour period. One hundred and nine patients were assessed and while 29.4% of these inpatients had delirium, 78% of them had the hypoactive subtype. Patients with hypoactive delirium may be much less noticeable or may be misdiagnosed as having depression or fatigue and the results of this study would advocate the routine use of delirium screening tools in all palliative care settings.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2005
Multicenter StudyAn exploration of family carers' experience of respite services in one specialist palliative care unit.
Changing patterns of care for terminally ill people mean that 90% of patients in the UK now spend the majority of their last year of life at home. It is now widely accepted that supporting individuals to die at home relies heavily on the availability of family carers to provide the majority of the care needed. However, one of the most common reasons for unplanned admissions near the end of life is carers' inability to provide continuing care. One strategy to overcome these challenges has been to offer planned respite care. Despite recent studies, in reality little is known about respite services for patients with life limiting illness, in particular how respite is experienced by the caregivers or to what extent respite services address their needs. ⋯ Currently, inpatient respite services are provided to two patient groups--those in the last year of life and those with a chronic life limiting illness. However, on closer analysis, the current model of service delivery, a two-week inpatient stay, may not be best suited to those caring for a relative in the last year of life. Similarly, it might be questioned whether an inpatient hospice is the most suitable setting for those patients needing supportive care, rather than specialist palliative care. The study has raised many issues that need to be considered in the support of carers caring for relatives with a life limiting illness with uncertain trajectories.
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The aim of this study was to obtain an understanding of what it means to be a hospice volunteer in a country without a tradition of hospice or palliative volunteer care services. Ten volunteers from three different hospices in Sweden were interviewed. Their narratives were interpreted with a phenomenological hermeneutic method. ⋯ Positive encounters with a hospice are closely related to personal growth. Volunteers feel rejected if their need for meaning and for belonging to the hospice is not satisfied. This shows that hospices need to set goals in terms of volunteer support, particularly regarding existential issues following the encounter with the hospice and the patient.