Health & social care in the community
-
Health Soc Care Community · Jan 2004
Carer satisfaction with end-of-life care in Powys, Wales: a cross-sectional survey.
A cross-sectional postal survey of bereaved carers was conducted in order to examine levels of satisfaction with services provided for people in their last year of life in the rural county of Powys, Wales, UK. A self-complete questionnaire, using a modified version of the Views of Informal Carers - Evaluation of Services instrument was sent to all bereaved carers of all those people dying of cancer in Powys between 1 April 1999 and 30 June 2001. Eight hundred and five (out of a possible of 815 people) were contacted and 407 agreed to receive the questionnaire. ⋯ Only one-fifth of respondents had the opportunity to talk to someone from health and social services after their bereavement; a large majority (four-fifths) found this helpful. One-tenth of respondents reported untreated pain at home; however, there was evidence for an increasing proportion of those treated having received good pain relief. Although there are high levels of satisfaction with care and services received by Powys residents, deficits exist in relation to: symptom control, nursing help, assistance from social services with transport and bathing, communication, and bereavement support.