Search results for ‘Subject term:"end of life care"’ Sort:
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First national VOICES survey of bereaved people: key findings report
- Author:
- SAUNDERS Cicely
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department of Health
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 52p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report provides an overview of the findings from the first ever national survey of bereaved relatives in England. The overall aims of the survey were to assess the quality of care delivered to people in the last three months of their lives and to assess variations in the quality of care delivered in different parts of the country and to different groups of patients. The survey was commissioned by the Department of Health in line with a commitment made in the End of Life Care Strategy (2008) to carry out surveys of bereaved relatives. A questionnaire was posted to the person who had informed the registrar of deaths about the death. A total of 22,292 people responded giving a response rate of 45.7%. Overall quality of care across all services and settings was reported for around 84% of patients. Of these 12% rated the care given as outstanding, 30% as excellent, 33% reported care as good, 14% as fair and 10% as poor. The highest proportions of ratings as outstanding were for patients who died in hospices (20%) and at home (19%) compared with 7% for hospitals, those who died of cancer (16% versus 9% for CVD and 11% other) and patients under 65 years (16% vs. 11% for those aged 80 or over).
When professionals weep: emotional and countertransference responses in end-of-life care
- Editors:
- KATZ Renee S., JOHNSON Therese G., (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 303p.
- Place of publication:
- New York
This book compiles the work of a dynamic group of leaders who address the issues surrounding the intersection of the personal and the professional in the context of end-of-life care. The 18 chapters are divided into six parts which introduce the topic and discuss special issues, specific populations and settings, personal-professional reflections and practice implications, ending with a conclusion.
The role of social workers in palliative, end of life and bereavement care
- Author:
- COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 46
- Place of publication:
- Birmingham
Sets out what palliative care social work is, the role and expertise of palliative care social workers and what palliative care social work can offer to support people. The resource starts with an overview of the context and an explanation of what palliative care social work is. It then outlines the particular capabilities (skills, knowledge and values) that palliative care social workers have, and the general capabilities that all social workers have in relation to end of life and bereavement. It explains what palliative care social work offers: in palliative care and end of life settings; in the last few days and hours of life; and to support wider social care. It then explains what all social workers can offer for people who are dying and bereaved and those who are close to them. The resource finishes with actions that everyone can take to get more out of palliative care social work and social work at end of life and in bereavement. (Edited publisher abstract)
Identifiable grief responses in persons with Alzheimer’s disease
- Authors:
- GRUETZNER Howard, ELLOR James W., BACK Nicole
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, 8(2), April 2012, pp.151-164.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia
Physicians and nurses of those in end-of-life care report that they frequently have residents for whom a primary loved one, such as a spouse, has died. Questions quickly arise as to whether or not to tell an older person with Alzheimers, how to tell the person, and how that person's response will impact the family. In two separate focus groups, one with 16 family members, and the other with 6 professionals, these questions were discussed with a group of family members and an interdisciplinary group of physicians, nurses, and social workers connected to long-term care facilities in one mid-sized community in Texas, United States. Findings revealed three patterns of response: self-threat described situations in which the individual responds to the announcement of the death by questioning who will take care of them now; substitution referred to the individual's inability to remember who has died and confused with a relative who died years ago; and metaphone, substitution of an object or unrelated item for the loss of a loved one. The authors suggest that those with dementia should be told in most circumstances that their loved one has died, but that behavioural interventions need to be designed to address the confusion can arise. Implications for practice are discussed.
Routes to success in end of life care: achieving quality environments for care at end of life
- Author:
- NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE. National End of Life Care Programme
- Publisher:
- National Health Service. National End of Life Care Programme
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 23p.
- Place of publication:
- Leicester
This guide identifies a number of key environmental principles to help improve privacy and dignity for patients and relatives. These principles can help to support the bereaved whose memories live on once their loved one has died. It is designed to be of use at each stage of the end-of-life care pathway and across all care environments, including hospitals, hospices and care homes. The aim of the guide is to provide practical support to those charged with delivering end-of-life care services, showing how patients’ and relatives’ experience can be improved through relatively small scale environmental changes. These can be as simple as de-cluttering corridors and noticeboards or as far-reaching as establishing a hospital bereavement centre. The guide also considers the end-of-life pathway from an environmental perspective, separating it into 4 overlapping sections. These are: how environments can be created for relatives, for those receiving palliative care, bereavement centres, and mortuary viewing facilities. Each section outlines the relevant step or steps of the pathway as well as listing questions to ask and tips on how to get started. Case studies highlighting best practice are also included.
Steps to improve the physical setting in end-of-life care
- Author:
- HARION Nerys
- Journal article citation:
- Nursing Times, 27.5.08, 2008, pp.23-24.
- Publisher:
- Nursing Times
The Department of Health has announced new funding to improve the standards of care settings for dying patients and bereaved relatives. The programme is the latest phase of the King's Fund's Enhancing the Healing Environment (EHE) programme, which followed pilot schemes in eight sites, and their published report outlining the lessons learnt from these sites. This article reports on the government scheme and findings from a recent report from the Kings Fund.
Dying in older age: reflections and experiences from an older person's perspective
- Editors:
- OWEN Tom, (ed.)
- Publisher:
- Help the Aged
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 43p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report summarises "End-of-life Care" and includes specially commissioned photographs of the older people whose articles are featured. It reinforces the call for dying, so often a taboo subject, to be recognised as an integral stage of life, when we should be able to expect the same concern for quality and fairness that we do for other life events.
End of life care: why supporting family carers is vital
- Author:
- SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE
- Publisher:
- Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 10 minutes 46 seconds
- Place of publication:
- London
This film looks at the family support service for the families and carers of people who are at the end of their lives at Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice. Social workers work with other staff members to identify families who are in need of support. They can offer a sitting service to enable carers to have some time away from their caring responsibilities and bereavement support and counselling to those who have lost a loved one. In the film Benita, who looks after her mother, talks about the support she receives from a regular sitter. Trevor, a bereaved man, explains how he was initially reluctant to have counselling but came to find it helpful and supportive in dealing with his grief. This film was previously available under the title 'End of life care: supporting the carers', revised in 2014.
Support at the end of life: the role of hospice services across the UK
- Authors:
- KEEBLE Eilis, SCOBIE Sarah, HUTCHINGS Rachel
- Publisher:
- Nuffield Trust
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 52
- Place of publication:
- London
This report addresses a significant gap in our understanding of the services that the hospice sector provides across the UK, including how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted services. The pandemic has seen major disruption to services across health and social care, along with a huge shift in where patients are dying, with both significantly impacting on end of life care. However, data from hospices is not routinely collected, and the last reported data are from a survey in 2016/17. In this report, we provide information on hospices' service provision for the years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. The data draw on a nationwide survey of hospices, conducted by Hospice UK. The findings from the report illuminate the impact of Covid-19 on services that the hospice sector provides, and the people who hospice services support. The data shows that in 2020/21 hospices supported an estimated 300,000 people in the UK, including people at the end of life, families, carers and bereaved relatives. During the pandemic there has been a shift in where and how services are provided, with much more care delivered at home. In 2020/21, there were almost a million 'hospice at home' contacts. In contrast, day services and hospice outpatient settings saw a decline in the number of contacts and people seen, and fewer people were hospice inpatients. In addition, the complexity of patients' needs may have increased, with patients receiving inpatient care having more contacts each, and contacts per person for bereavement services also increasing. In 2020/21, more than 120,000 community support contacts were delivered virtually, along with virtual welfare, bereavement and therapy services. Hospices switched to providing services remotely, to respond to concern from patients about attending appointments and to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection. In 2020/21, there was a drop in the number of people who hospices supported but this was small, particularly when compared to the significant falls in activity across other health services during the pandemic. (Edited publisher abstract)
I can't believe they are dead. Death and mourning in the absence of goodbyes during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Authors:
- HERNANDEZ-FERNANDEZ Carlos, MENESES-FALCON Carmen
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 30(4), 2022, pp.e1220-e1232.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The circumstances surrounding the deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent mourning process transpired in completely atypical conditions. This study analyses the experience of losing a loved one without traditional, culture-specific rituals for saying goodbye, explores the different factors affecting the onset of mourning by family members and studies the existence of complicating risk factors associated with grief from this distinct type of loss. A qualitative, phenomenological and interpretive research study was undertaken through in-depth interviews of 48 informants, key and general, in the autonomous Community of Madrid. The interviews were conducted between July and November of 2020 and were followed by an interpretive categorical qualitative analysis. The principal results include (a) the finding that deaths caused by the pandemic are, due to their characteristics, a complicating factor for bereavement, (b) evidence that the professionals who supported these deaths with a holistic approach, facilitating the process for the family members, have been a determining factor in enabling the beginning of the mourning process and reducing anguish for the family members and (c) the conclusion that a need exists for a resignification of the funeral rite. Finally, before future crises, it is recommended that access protocols be developed for relatives, including methods that permit them to say goodbye to their loved ones, no matter the situation. (Edited publisher abstract)