NEWS
7/7 survivor pays tribute to staff Gill Hicks, a survivor of the 7/7 London terrorist attacks, returned to St Thomas’ Hospital to meet staff a decade after they saved her life. Ms Hicks, who had both legs amputated after the tube she was travelling on was blown up, took her two-year-old daughter Amelie with her to meet chief nurse Dame Eileen Sills, one of the first people she saw after regaining consciousness. She said: ‘The staff who cared for me are gorgeous, wonderful people and I’ll always be grateful for what they did.’
From left: senior nursing assistant Fatima Eretusi, Gill Hicks, physiotherapist Matthew Fuller, nurse Lucy Ford and Amelie
One in ten bereaved people rate end of life care as poor, poll finds By Alistair Kleebauer
@alistairbauer
About one in seven bereaved people do not believe their loved one had nutrition or hydration needs met in the last two days of life, a survey reveals. More than 21,000 friends and relatives of people who died between January and April 2014 completed the National Survey of Bereaved People. The annual survey, which assesses the quality of care given in the last three months of life for adults who died in England, included a series of questions on the last two days of life for the first time. The new questions were introduced following the withdrawal of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) last year. The LCP, a framework for end of life care, was criticised by relatives who said fluids and nutrition had been withdrawn without their knowledge. A total of 75% of respondents reported nutritional needs had been met in the last two days of life. However, 13% disagreed that patients’ nutritional needs were met. Another 11.9% neither agreed nor disagreed.
More than one out of ten (11%) people disagreed that support to drink or receive fluid was provided, compared with 79% who agreed and 10% who neither agreed nor disagreed. The findings come just weeks after the RCN launched new guidance on hydration and nutrition for nurses caring for patients at the end of life. The bereavement survey also found that pain was relieved for patients in the final two days of life, according to 81% of respondents.
Communication
Three out of four people (75%) rated the overall quality of end of life care for their loved one as outstanding, excellent or good, while one in ten (10%) rated care as poor. Dame Gill Oliver, an RCN fellow and expert in palliative care, said communication is key to so much in end of life care, for example if a drip is removed from a patient. She said: ‘There needs to be an explanation and discussion so there is an agreement with the family and patient wherever possible.
They need to understand what is being done and why.’ Respondents whose friend or relative died in hospital were less likely to agree that they were kept informed of the patient’s condition in the final two days of life (74% compared with the next lowest score of 82% for care provided at home). Overall, 69% of bereaved people whose relative or friend died in hospital rated care as good or better, compared with 83% for those who died in a hospice, 82% in a care home and 79% at home. Seven out of ten bereaved people agreed that staff tried to ensure dying patients were in the place they wanted to be, and they had their emotional needs met in their last two days of life. But 15% disagreed that patients’ emotional or spiritual needs were met. Macmillan Cancer Support end of life care programme lead Adrienne Betteley said: ‘Good quality care is vital, whether it is in a hospital, hospice or at home. ‘Sadly, we have a long way to go to achieve consistency in all settings.’
NURSING julyNo 15other :: voluses 29 no 46 ::permission. 2015 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
7/7 survivor pays tribute to staff Gill Hicks, a survivor of the 7/7 London terrorist attacks, returned to St Thomas’ Hospital to meet staff a decade after they saved her life. Ms Hicks, who had both legs amputated after the tube she was travelling on was blown up, took her two-year-old daughter Amelie with her to meet chief nurse Dame Eileen Sills, one of the first people she saw after regaining consciousness. She said: ‘The staff who cared for me are gorgeous, wonderful people and I’ll always be grateful for what they did.’
From left: senior nursing assistant Fatima Eretusi, Gill Hicks, physiotherapist Matthew Fuller, nurse Lucy Ford and Amelie
One in ten bereaved people rate end of life care as poor, poll finds By Alistair Kleebauer
@alistairbauer
About one in seven bereaved people do not believe their loved one had nutrition or hydration needs met in the last two days of life, a survey reveals. More than 21,000 friends and relatives of people who died between January and April 2014 completed the National Survey of Bereaved People. The annual survey, which assesses the quality of care given in the last three months of life for adults who died in England, included a series of questions on the last two days of life for the first time. The new questions were introduced following the withdrawal of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) last year. The LCP, a framework for end of life care, was criticised by relatives who said fluids and nutrition had been withdrawn without their knowledge. A total of 75% of respondents reported nutritional needs had been met in the last two days of life. However, 13% disagreed that patients’ nutritional needs were met. Another 11.9% neither agreed nor disagreed.
More than one out of ten (11%) people disagreed that support to drink or receive fluid was provided, compared with 79% who agreed and 10% who neither agreed nor disagreed. The findings come just weeks after the RCN launched new guidance on hydration and nutrition for nurses caring for patients at the end of life. The bereavement survey also found that pain was relieved for patients in the final two days of life, according to 81% of respondents.
Communication
Three out of four people (75%) rated the overall quality of end of life care for their loved one as outstanding, excellent or good, while one in ten (10%) rated care as poor. Dame Gill Oliver, an RCN fellow and expert in palliative care, said communication is key to so much in end of life care, for example if a drip is removed from a patient. She said: ‘There needs to be an explanation and discussion so there is an agreement with the family and patient wherever possible.
They need to understand what is being done and why.’ Respondents whose friend or relative died in hospital were less likely to agree that they were kept informed of the patient’s condition in the final two days of life (74% compared with the next lowest score of 82% for care provided at home). Overall, 69% of bereaved people whose relative or friend died in hospital rated care as good or better, compared with 83% for those who died in a hospice, 82% in a care home and 79% at home. Seven out of ten bereaved people agreed that staff tried to ensure dying patients were in the place they wanted to be, and they had their emotional needs met in their last two days of life. But 15% disagreed that patients’ emotional or spiritual needs were met. Macmillan Cancer Support end of life care programme lead Adrienne Betteley said: ‘Good quality care is vital, whether it is in a hospital, hospice or at home. ‘Sadly, we have a long way to go to achieve consistency in all settings.’
NURSING julyNo 15other :: voluses 29 no 46 ::permission. 2015 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 22, 2015. For personal use only. without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
