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A bill aimed at improving patient choice in end of life care has passed two more stages in parliament and moved closer to becoming law. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Open access. End-of-life care has been given increasing importance within healthcare settings. In June 2014, the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People published One Chance to Get it Right. This nationally accepted guidance replaces previous end-of-life care pathways such as the Liverpool Care Pathway and outlines how dying patients should be managed irrespective of setting. Increasingly, patients with mental health problems are entering their final days of life within psychiatric in-patient or acute hospital settings, and psychiatrists need to be aware of the new guidance and ready to implement it within psychiatric practice.
Dementia is a life-limiting condition that is largely a disease of ageing. However, older people in general, and older people with dementia in particular, have not always had equal access to effective palliative and end of life care. As a result, people with dementia at the end of life often receive aggressive and burdensome interventions, or inadequate assessment and management of their symptoms. Patterns in how people with dementia experience and present symptoms as they near the end of life can indicate when the goals of care should change and a palliative approach should be adopted. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Starting the conversation about spiritual needs and being with a person in spiritual distress can be difficult for staff and volunteers. Expressing spiritual distress is a challenge for patients and their loved ones, as knowing where to begin and how to put feelings into words can feel impossible.
The St Barnabas Hospice Spiritual Wellbeing Boxes have been developed to make vital interaction between patients, their loved ones, our staff and volunteers a little easier.
This resource aims to help frontline professionals and providers working in community settings and commissioners maintain a holistic approach to the people dying, caring or bereaved.
It provides information to help ensure that commissioning and delivery of services and practice takes account of spiritual needs of the largest 6 faith groups in England and remains appropriate to the community setting in which they work.
The palliative care needs of people with learning disabilities are not always recognised, resulting in many having no choice about their death, a conference has heard. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
The film tells the story of Molly, her daughter and the care package around Molly that allowed her to remain at home and die peacefully. It’s a great story of what happens when the system works well and families talk in advance about a loved one’s wishes.
Over 12 minutes Molly’s increasing frailty is set out, how the family prepared for her death and what happened at the end. The most moving section of the film starts at 8’22”
Editorial. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Physicians are increasingly confronted with people with intellectual disabilities (ID) who are facing life-threatening diseases. We aimed to explore when and based on which information sources and signals physicians recognised that a patient with ID would die in the foreseeable future. Insights may help in identifying patients in need of palliative care. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Commentary on:
Rosenwax L, Spilsbury K, Arendts G, et al. Community-based palliative care is associated with reduced emergency department use by people with dementia in their last year of life: a retrospective cohort study. Palliat Med 2015;29:727–36.
Implications for practice and research
We need to better understand how community palliative care should be organised and delivered to optimise well-being for the dementia population.
Research is needed to explore and explain the nature of the relationship between community palliative care and emergency department (ED) use.
More work is needed to examine which palliative care principles are most effective in reducing ED visits. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Commentary on:
Tomlinson E, Stott J. Assisted dying in dementia: a systematic review of the international literature on the attitudes of health professionals, patients, carers and the public, and the factors associated with these. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2015;30:10–20.
Implications for practice and research
Different levels of advocating for assisted dying between people with dementia and health professionals may mean professionals need more confidence, support and awareness to have these conversations.
Further qualitative research is needed to explore in more detail the views carers and people with dementia have about assisted dying. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Commentary on:
Ramasamy Venkatasalu M, Whiting D, Cairnduff K. Life after the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP): a qualitative study of critical care practitioners delivering end-of-life care. J Adv Nurs 2015;71:2108–18.
Implications for practice and research
Experienced practitioners can deliver high-quality end-of-life care without the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) but junior nursing and medical staff need clear guidance and support. Evidence-based guidance on family involvement is needed to avoid future controversies.
Research is needed into how managers and practitioners can address the organisational, professional and cultural factors that undermined the implementation of the LCP and are likely to hinder high-quality end-of-life care in the future. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined palliative care as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.1 Globally, it is estimated that every year over 20 million people will require palliative care at the end of life. Of these 69% are adults over 60 years. These older population, who make up the vast majority of residents within care home settings, are more … To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined palliative care as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.1 Globally, it is estimated that every year over 20 million people will require palliative care at the end of life. Of these 69% are adults over 60 years. These older population, who make up the vast majority of residents within care home settings, are more … To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
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