No place like home: A case study of a patient discharged from an Intensive Care Unit for end of life care at home

Introduction Both in the UK and internationally, discharge from an intensive care unit to home for end of life care is a rare and challenging occurrence. These challenges include clinicians’ ability to identify appropriate patients in whom it is possible to communicate with about their wishes and preferences, the critical nature of their condition and the interface between hospital and community services. Method We present a case report of a patient who had been admitted to hospital with a myocardial infarction and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest, from which he was successfully resuscitated. Subsequently, he suffered multi-organ failure, but despite treatments, the ceiling of care was reached. With a poor prognosis, medical and nursing staff engaged in advance care planning to determine his wishes and preferences at the end of life and to facilitate his discharge from the intensive care unit to his home. Conclusion This case study has highlighted that through good communication amongst patients, families and professionals and collaborative working across boundaries and organisations, appropriate patients in the critical care setting can have a real choice regarding where they wish to be cared for and die at the end of their life.