scholarly journals End-of-life care in a psychiatric hospital

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Z. Waterman ◽  
David Denton ◽  
Ollie Minton
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Psychiatric Hospital ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Dying Patients ◽  
Care Guidelines ◽  
The Uk

SummarySince the Liverpool Care Pathway has been withdrawn in the UK, clinicians supporting the palliative needs of patients have faced further challenges, particularly for patients with dementia who are unable to go to a hospice owing to challenging behaviours. It is becoming more important for different services to provide long-term palliative care for patients with dementia. Mental health trusts should construct end-of-life care policies and train staff members accordingly. Through collaborative working, dying patients may be kept where they are best suited. We present the case study of a patient who received end-of-life care at a psychiatric hospital in the UK. We aim to demonstrate how effective end-of-life care might be provided in a psychiatric hospital, in accordance with recent new palliative care guidelines, and highlight potential barriers.

Palliative care for community patients diagnosed with dementia: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 570-575
Author(s):  
Cathryn Smith ◽  
Gina Newbury
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Community Setting ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Staff Support ◽  
The Uk

Despite many efforts made by health organisations to deliver effective end-of-life care to patients with dementia, research indicates that palliative care is predominantly aimed at patients with terminal cancer, and that patients with dementia face challenges in accessing end-of-life care. This article explores the views of health professionals on providing palliative care to those patients diagnosed with dementia within the community setting. A systematic review of seven qualitative studies was performed to identify the best available evidence. The findings show that effective palliative care for patients with dementia continues being affected by many barriers and challenges. Good practice seems to be inconsistent and fragmented throughout the UK and European countries, and many health professionals are faced with difficulties associated with services and financial implications, training and education, staff support, communication, family support and dementia care.

scholarly journals Education is an important factor in end-of-life care: results from a survey of Brazilian physicians’ attitudes and knowledge in end-of-life medicine

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Ioshimoto ◽  
Danielle Ioshimoto Shitara ◽  
Gilmar Fernades do Prado ◽  
Raymon Pizzoni ◽  
Rafael Hennemann Sassi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Medical Residency ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Prior Training ◽  
Care Education ◽  
Palliative Care Education ◽  
Dying Patients

Abstract Background According to the Latin America Association for palliative care, Brazil offers only 0.48 palliative care services per 1 million inhabitants. In 2012, no accredited physicians were working in palliative care, while only 1.1% of medical schools included palliative care education in their undergraduate curricula. As a reflection of the current scenario, little research about end-of-life care has been published so that studies addressing this subject in the Brazilian setting are crucial. Methods A cross-sectional study study conducted with students applying for the medical residency of the Federal University of São Paulo were invited to voluntarily participate in an anonymous and self-administered questionnaire survey. The latter included demographic information, attitudes, prior training in end-of-life care, prior end-of-life care experience, the 20-item Palliative Care Knowledge Test (PCKT) and a consent term. Results Of the 3086 subjects applying for residency, 2349 (76%) answered the survey, 2225 were eligible for analysis while 124 were excluded due to incomplete data. Although the majority (99,2%) thought it was important to have palliative care education in the medical curriculum, less than half of them (46,2%) reported having received no education on palliative care. The overall performance in the PCKT was poor, with a mean score of 10,79 (± 3). While philosophical questions were correctly answered (81,8% of correct answers), most participants lacked knowledge in symptom control (50,7% for pain, 57,3% for dyspnea, 52,2% for psychiatric problems and 43,4% for gastrointestinal problems). Doctors that had already concluded a prior residency program and the ones that had prior experience with terminal patients performed better in the PCKT (p < 0,001). The high-performance group (more than 50% of correct answers) had received more training in end-of-life care, showed more interest in learning more about the subject, had a better sense of preparedness, as well as a higher percentage of experience in caring for terminal patients (p < 0,001). Conclusions Our study showed that Brazilian physicians lack not only the knowledge, but also training in end-of-life medicine. Important factors to better knowledge in end-of-life care were prior training, previous contact with dying patients and prior medical residency. Corroborating the literature, for this group, training showed to be a key factor in overall in this area of knowledge. Therefore, Brazilian medical schools and residency programs should focus on improving palliative training, especially those involving contact with dying patients.

scholarly journals Palliative and end-of-life care in care homes: protocol for codesigning and implementing an appropriate scalable model of Needs Rounds in the UK

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e049486
Author(s):  
Aisha Macgregor ◽  
Alasdair Rutherford ◽  
Brendan McCormack ◽  
Jo Hockley ◽  
Margaret Ogden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Palliative Care Teams ◽  
The Uk

IntroductionPalliative and end-of-life care in care homes is often inadequate, despite high morbidity and mortality. Residents can experience uncontrolled symptoms, poor quality deaths and avoidable hospitalisations. Care home staff can feel unsupported to look after residents at the end of life. Approaches for improving end-of-life care are often education-focused, do not triage residents and rarely integrate clinical care. This study will adapt an evidence-based approach from Australia for the UK context called ‘Palliative Care Needs Rounds’ (Needs Rounds). Needs Rounds combine triaging, anticipatory person-centred planning, case-based education and case-conferencing; the Australian studies found that Needs Rounds reduce length of stay in hospital, and improve dying in preferred place of care, and symptoms at the end of life.Methods and analysisThis implementation science study will codesign and implement a scalable UK model of Needs Rounds. The Integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework will be used to identify contextual barriers and use facilitation to enable successful implementation. Six palliative care teams, working with 4–6 care homes each, will engage in two phases. In phase 1 (February 2021), stakeholder interviews (n=40) will be used to develop a programme theory to meet the primary outcome of identifying what works, for whom in what circumstances for UK Needs Rounds. Subsequently a workshop to codesign UK Needs Rounds will be run. Phase 2 (July 2021) will implement the UK model for a year. Prospective data collection will focus on secondary outcomes regarding hospitalisations, residents’ quality of death and care home staff capability of adopting a palliative approach.Ethics and disseminationFrenchay Research Ethics Committee (287447) approved the study. Findings will be disseminated to policy-makers, care home/palliative care practitioners, residents/relatives and academic audiences. An implementation package will be developed for practitioners to provide the tools and resources required to adopt UK Needs Rounds.Registration detailsRegistration details: ISRCTN15863801.

scholarly journals The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient: a critical analysis of its rise, demise and legacy in England

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Seymour ◽  
David Clark
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Boundary Object ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Dying Patient ◽  
Roll Out

Background: The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (‘LCP’) was an integrated care pathway (ICP) recommended by successive governments in England and Wales to improve end-of-life care. It was discontinued in 2014 following mounting criticism and a national review.  Understanding the problems encountered in the roll out of the LCP has crucial importance for future policy making in end of life care. We provide an in-depth account of LCP development and implementation with explanatory theoretical perspectives. We address three critical questions: 1) why and how did the LCP come to prominence as a vehicle of policy and practice? 2) what factors contributed to its demise? 3) what immediate implications and lessons resulted from its withdrawal? Methods: We use primary and secondary sources in the public domain to assemble a critical and historical review. We also draw on the ‘boundary object’ concept and on wider analyses of the use of ICPs. Results: The rapidity of transfer and translation of the LCP reflected uncritical enthusiasm for ICPs in the early 2000s. While the LCP had some weaknesses in its formulation and implementation, it became the bearer of responsibility for all aspects of NHS end-of-life care. It exposed fault lines in the NHS, provided a platform for debates about the ‘evidence’ required to underpin innovations in palliative care and became a conduit of discord about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ practice in care of the dying. It also fostered a previously unseen critique of assumptions within palliative care. Conclusions: In contrast to most observers of the LCP story who refer to the dangers of scaling up clinical interventions without an evidence base, we call for greater assessment of the wider risks and more careful consideration of the unintended consequences that might result from the roll out of new end-of-life interventions.

A residential aged care end-of-life care pathway (RAC EoLCP) for Australian aged care facilities

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Reymond ◽  
Fiona J. Israel ◽  
Margaret A. Charles
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Acute Care ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Residential Aged Care ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Aged Care Facilities

The objective of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate an end-of-life (terminal) care pathway and associated infrastructure suitable for Australian residential aged care facilities that improves resident and health system outcomes. The residential aged care end-of-life care pathway was developed by a multidisciplinary collaboration of government and non-government professionals and incorporated best clinical management for dying residents to guide care and increase palliative care capacity of generalist staff. Implementation included identifying and up-skilling Link Nurses to champion the pathway, networking facilities with specialist palliative care services, delivering education to generalists and commencing a Palliative Care Medication Imprest System in each facility. The primary outcome measure for evaluation was transfer to hospital; secondary measures included staff perceived changes in quality of palliative care provided and family satisfaction with care. Results indicated that the pathway, delivered within a care framework that guides provision of palliative care, resulted in improved resident outcomes and decreased inappropriate transfers to acute care settings. What is known about the topic? Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) are the hospices of today. Many RACF staff are not confident in the delivery of high quality palliative care, resulting in inappropriate transfers of dying residents to acute care facilities. Needs-based palliative care pathways are being used increasingly to direct care in a variety of healthcare environments. What does this paper add? Provides the first evidence in Australia that a residential aged care end-of-life care pathway (RAC EoLCP) improves outcomes of care for dying residents and results in fewer residents being inappropriately transferred to acute care facilities. What are the implications for practitioners? Use of the RAC EoLCP will improve resident and health system outcomes by guiding the delivery of high quality palliative care and improving the palliative care capacity of generalist health providers.

48 Junior doctors and end of life care: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 378.1-378
Author(s):  
Aamena Bharmal ◽  
Tessa Morgan ◽  
Stephen Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Junior Doctors ◽  
List Type ◽  
Narrative Synthesis ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Dying Patients

BackgroundNearly 50% of all deaths in the UK occur in hospitals.1 The majority of these patients die in a generalist setting2 where their medical care is predominately provided by junior doctors. There is a growing recognition of a need to embed palliative care into doctors’ training.3Little evidence exists, however, concerning junior doctors’ current experiences of palliative care.AimsTo review the empirical literature between 2000 and 2018 concerning junior doctors experience of and preparation for palliative and end of life care.MethodsSystematic review and narrative synthesis of qualitative and quantitative studies within six databases to find empirical studies on junior doctors experience of adult palliative care in inpatient hospital or hospice settings.ResultsFrom the initial 6308 titles identified, 32 studies met the inclusion criteria with a further five identified from reference searching.Three key themes were identified:‘Significance of death and dying’‘Thrown into the deep end’‘Addressing the gaps’. All the studies provided evidence that junior doctors care for many dying patients very early in their career. Junior doctors do not feel adequately prepared to care for dying patients and feel unsupported when doing so. Junior doctors report emotional distress when caring for their first few dying patients, memories of which continue to affect them throughout their careers. Their attitudes towards end–of–life care varied: some reported it as a privilege while others associated it with a culture of disengagement that stigmatised dying patients.ConclusionsJunior doctors need further support, education and preparation for their exposure to palliative care. Experiential learning, reflective practice and role modelling are described as the most effective ways to learn palliative care and this also teaches them other transferrable skills such as communication, teamwork and professionalism that are vital for their future careers.References. Office for National Statistics Deaths Registered in England and Wales2016.. Gomes B, Higginson I. Where people die (1974–2030): Past trends, future projections and implications for care. Palliative Med2008;22:33–41.. General Medical Council. Tomorrow’s doctors: Recommendations on undergraduate medical education 2002 (2nd ed.). London: GMC.

scholarly journals Psychiatry and Terminal Illness

2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey Max Chochinov
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Psychological Issues ◽  
Dying Patients

Objective: To provide an overview of the palliative care literature salient to the psychiatric aspect of end-of-life care. Method: A literature review was conducted, targeting primarily empirical studies that addressed the following topics: 1) psychological issues pertaining to life-threatening conditions; 2) family issues in the context of palliative care; 3) psychological issues and challenges faced by end-of-life health care providers; and 4) psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and organic mental disorders, in people with terminal illness. Results: There is a small but emerging literature that can guide psychiatrists in their role of providing care to dying patients. Conclusions: While psychiatry has made tremendous inroads toward providing care to patients throughout the life cycle, its presence is only just beginning to be felt in end-of-life care. Within the domain of palliative care, psychiatry has an expanded and important role to play.

scholarly journals End-of-Life Care and the Use of an Integrated Care Pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Brattgjerd ◽  
Rose Mari Olsen ◽  
Inger Jorun Danielsen
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Integrated Care ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Coupled System ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Loosely Coupled ◽  
Dying Patients ◽  
Collective Sensemaking ◽  
Integrated Care Pathway

Liverpool Care Pathway is an integrated care pathway (ICP) designed to ensure the provision of high-quality end-of-life care. However, the ICP has come under substantial criticism, suggesting that its use is related to poor care. This study explores nurses’ use of the ICP to dying patients in Norwegian nursing homes. We conducted a qualitative study using an abductive, mystery-focused method to analyze the experiences of 12 registered nurses. Our findings show that the nurses experienced the ICP as a very useful tool in end-of-life care, although they were actually working independently of the ICP in the provision of ongoing bedside care for the dying patients. This can be understood as following: (I) the ICP is not compatible with the complex problems of dying patients; therefore, nurses must tinker with the ICP in order to give dying patients proper and dignified care; (II) the ICP is a myth with symbolic power, legitimizing care makes nurses positive towards the ICP; and (III) using the ICP as a loosely coupled system creates novel effects on nursing practice. In this study, we have shown how the ICP creates a common culture through a process of individual and collective sensemaking, which we labelled clinical mindlines.

scholarly journals British laypeople’s attitudes towards gradual sedation, sedation to unconsciousness and euthanasia at the end of life

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antony Takla ◽  
Julian Savulescu ◽  
Andreas Kappes ◽  
Dominic J. C. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Dying Patients ◽  
Relieve Pain ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Dying Patient

Background Many patients at the end of life require analgesia to relieve pain. Additionally, up to 1/5 of patients in the UK receive sedation for refractory symptoms at the end of life. The use of sedation in end-of-life care (EOLC) remains controversial. While gradual sedation to alleviate intractable suffering is generally accepted, there is more opposition towards deliberate and rapid sedation to unconsciousness (so-called “terminal anaesthesia”, TA). However, the general public’s views about sedation in EOLC are not known. We sought to investigate the general public’s views to inform policy and practice in the UK. Methods We performed two anonymous online surveys of members of the UK public, sampled to be representative for key demographic characteristics (n = 509). Participants were given a scenario of a hypothetical terminally ill patient with one week of life left. We sought views on the acceptability of providing titrated analgesia, gradual sedation, terminal anaesthesia, and euthanasia. We asked participants about the intentions of doctors, what risks of sedation would be acceptable, and the equivalence of terminal anaesthesia and euthanasia. Findings Of the 509 total participants, 84% and 72% indicated that it is permissible to offer titrated analgesia and gradual sedation (respectively); 75% believed it is ethical to offer TA. Eighty-eight percent of participants indicated that they would like to have the option of TA available in their EOLC (compared with 79% for euthanasia); 64% indicated that they would potentially wish for TA at the end of life (52% for euthanasia). Two-thirds indicated that doctors should be allowed to make a dying patient completely unconscious. More than 50% of participants believed that TA and euthanasia were non-equivalent; a third believed they were. Interpretation These novel findings demonstrate substantial support from the UK general public for the use of sedation and TA in EOLC. More discussion is needed about the range of options that should be offered for dying patients.

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