Clin Med
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The national clinical guidelines for Rehabilitation following acquired brain injury were developed by a multidisciplinary working party convened by the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, and are published in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians (2003). They have been produced to complement the National Institute of Clinical Excellence head injury guidelines, and to address the medium- to longer-term needs of patients with acquired brain injury and of their families/carers. This article serves as an introduction to make physicians aware of the guidelines, and to highlight in particular the advice to doctors in the acute services regarding early discharge and referral to rehabilitation.
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As awareness grows of the palliative care needs of those diagnosed with advanced life-threatening illness other than cancer, consideration needs to be given to how to address these needs. This paper focuses on palliative care for those with such diagnoses by describing variations in illness trajectory according to diagnosis, and exploring how this may affect provision of palliative care.