The essential component for good palliative care is to undertake a holistic, multidisciplinary assessment acknowledging the individuality of each person. This abstract describes the process of introducing into a hospice inpatient unit a new model of care adapted from the ‘Burford Model: Caring in Practice’ by Christopher Johns (1994). The aim …

Personhood is constructed and maintained through meaning as an essential component of thought (Cassell, 2004). Everyday or even clinical language as a container (Bion, 1970) and expression of meaning may, at times of stress and suffering, fail to support the depth and subtlety of such experiences and this failure can be experienced as threatening the …

This paper will describe the Farleigh Hospice Outreach Project (HOP), summarise the audit outcomes and make recommendations about the feasibility and usefulness of such a service. The HOP is the first mobile hospice project in the UK. The pilot project was undertaken in the …

Introduction: The purpose of the abstract is to outline the support offered to Help the Hospices’ members when planning and promoting their ‘Light up a Life’ events and appeals. Key concepts: For many years Light up a Life has been hospices’ best loved and most meaningful event. In 2007, Help the Hospices developed a national campaign to support hospices with their own local appeals and events. The national campaign consisted of the development of a website through which the public …

The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate the development of an infection control link nurse team within a hospice and the positive effects this has had in many areas. Key concepts include:

Introduction: There have been significant improvements in the skills and knowledge of colleagues working within the primary healthcare team (PHCT) through the implementation of end-of-life tools and palliative care education forums. The palliative care nurse specialist (PCNS) team is employed by and based at the hospice. With great demand on this service, it …

Aim: This study aimed to explore the respite needs of adolescents/young people with life-limiting conditions as perceived by adolescents/young people, their parents/carers and professionals from the multidisciplinary palliative care team. Background: Medical and technological advances have increased the life expectancy of many children/young people beyond the age of 18 years, creating a small but …

Introduction: Nausea and vomiting are often under-recognised, although causes can be determined and symptoms controlled in 80% of cancer patients. Management should be mechanistic with antiemetic choice based on pharmacological evidence. Aim: To evaluate the impact of clinical practice guidelines for managing nausea and vomiting, in a multi-site hospice (total beds 58), by comparing practice to evidence-based standards. Methods: A total of 40 …

Introduction: Many patients referred to the specialist palliative care (SPC) team for symptom control or advice regarding terminal care have diabetes. Information regarding the management of diabetes at the end of life is limited, despite its rising prevalence. To address this issue the palliative care and diabetes team in our hospital jointly produced guidelines. Aims: We audited current practice …

Introduction: Risk is high on the clinical governance agenda. A key area of risk within specialist palliative care relates to medication use. The following abstract illustrates how a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to drug error management leads to positive outcomes. Background: Our unit operates an open culture regarding drug error reporting. A number of factors prompted a review of policy …