International journal of palliative nursing
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People with learning disabilities may experience poorer health, have additional health needs and often die younger than the average population. They may be diagnosed with palliative conditions but have difficulties accessing appropriate assessment, treatment and subsequent care. This position paper introduces the recognized challenges of providing high quality palliative care to people with learning disabilities and explores the potential for delivering appropriate palliative care for this vulnerable population within the UK. The article concludes with recommendations for practice development.
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Postal survey of UK hospices and specialist palliative care services providing adult bereavement support. ⋯ The main elements of bereavement support can be identified but their combination varies. Assessment of people for individual support varies and the small size of many services may inhibit the effective delivery of support. Audit and evaluation of bereavement support may need to be developed.
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A survey into existence of resuscitation policies in hospices in Northwest England. ⋯ There was significant variation in the production and adherence to guidelines on resuscitation, with some patients being denied access to specialist palliative care units, as they would wish resuscitation. Much anxiety and confusion regarding this topic existed and staff clearly required further education and guidance in order to develop policies within their units and to provide standard treatment within all specialist palliative care units.
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To evaluate the experiences of health-care professionals, service users and carers of service users from a UK hospice in relation to dependency assessment. ⋯ Further research is required to improve the validity of dependency data collection. Further investigation of carer assessment is also justified.