NEWS
Patients ‘confused’ by dual charity and district nurse palliative care By Alistair Kleebauer
@alistairbauer
MIKE WILKINSON
District nursing teams and charities need to be clear with patients about who provides which palliative care service to avoid confusion, the Queen’s Nursing Institute’s chief executive has said. Crystal Oldman said patients can be confused when there is a handover from a district nursing team, which may have visited a patient in their own home for a long time, to a palliative care service – often provided by charities and voluntary organisations, such as Marie Curie – as the patient nears the end of their life. ‘It is only an issue where the people concerned are not clear about who is doing what for the patient,’ said Dr Oldman. ‘The district nursing team and the palliative care team need to be clear about each other’s responsibilities.’ Dr Oldman’s comments followed a report by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on palliative care that found the
distinct roles of primary care staff, including GPs and district nurses, can be unclear to patients. The report pointed to evidence that there can be poor communication between primary care professionals when providing palliative care in the community to people with non-cancer diagnoses. It added that a lack of resources and palliative care expertise
‘IT’S ONLY AN ISSUE WHERE THE TEAMS ARE NOT CLEAR ABOUT WHO IS DOING WHAT’ can be barriers to effective care in primary care settings. Dr Oldman said palliative care is very much part of the district nursing service but a lack of district nurses and appropriate equipment can lead to patients not having the option to die in their own home. A major overhaul of palliative care is needed, the LSE researchers recommend. They said an estimated 92,000 people in England, 3,000 in Northern Ireland, nearly 11,000
in Scotland and 6,200 people in Wales could benefit from palliative care but do not receive it. Dr Oldman said: ‘The bottom line is that more investment is needed in district nursing teams and district nursing team leaders who can manage the caseloads and the care.’ The report recommended further development of recording systems and registers to improve co-ordination of palliative care in primary care settings. It also called for development of the evidence base around existing models of generalist palliative care, which is provided by the patient’s usual care staff, such as GPs and district nurses, as opposed to a specialist team. RCN professional lead for end of life care Amanda Cheesley said: ‘There are not always clear communication strategies on who patients and families should contact.’ She added that nurses, including district and hospice nurses, can be ideally placed to co-ordinate palliative care in primary settings. Read the full LSE report at tinyurl.com/LSEpalliative
Jobs fair travels to Glasgow More than 1,000 nurses and students seeking new employment or to develop their careers attended the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair in Glasgow last week. The 56 employers on show included healthcare providers, recruitment agencies, the armed forces, charities and organisations from the private sector. Seminar sessions offered expert guidance, including CV writing and interview skills. Future RCN Bulletin Jobs Fairs are in Birmingham, July 2/3; London, September 10/11; and Manchester, November 5/6.
NURSING aprilNo 15other :: voluses 29 without no 33 ::permission. 2015 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal use only. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Patients ‘confused’ by dual charity and district nurse palliative care By Alistair Kleebauer
@alistairbauer
MIKE WILKINSON
District nursing teams and charities need to be clear with patients about who provides which palliative care service to avoid confusion, the Queen’s Nursing Institute’s chief executive has said. Crystal Oldman said patients can be confused when there is a handover from a district nursing team, which may have visited a patient in their own home for a long time, to a palliative care service – often provided by charities and voluntary organisations, such as Marie Curie – as the patient nears the end of their life. ‘It is only an issue where the people concerned are not clear about who is doing what for the patient,’ said Dr Oldman. ‘The district nursing team and the palliative care team need to be clear about each other’s responsibilities.’ Dr Oldman’s comments followed a report by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on palliative care that found the
distinct roles of primary care staff, including GPs and district nurses, can be unclear to patients. The report pointed to evidence that there can be poor communication between primary care professionals when providing palliative care in the community to people with non-cancer diagnoses. It added that a lack of resources and palliative care expertise
‘IT’S ONLY AN ISSUE WHERE THE TEAMS ARE NOT CLEAR ABOUT WHO IS DOING WHAT’ can be barriers to effective care in primary care settings. Dr Oldman said palliative care is very much part of the district nursing service but a lack of district nurses and appropriate equipment can lead to patients not having the option to die in their own home. A major overhaul of palliative care is needed, the LSE researchers recommend. They said an estimated 92,000 people in England, 3,000 in Northern Ireland, nearly 11,000
in Scotland and 6,200 people in Wales could benefit from palliative care but do not receive it. Dr Oldman said: ‘The bottom line is that more investment is needed in district nursing teams and district nursing team leaders who can manage the caseloads and the care.’ The report recommended further development of recording systems and registers to improve co-ordination of palliative care in primary care settings. It also called for development of the evidence base around existing models of generalist palliative care, which is provided by the patient’s usual care staff, such as GPs and district nurses, as opposed to a specialist team. RCN professional lead for end of life care Amanda Cheesley said: ‘There are not always clear communication strategies on who patients and families should contact.’ She added that nurses, including district and hospice nurses, can be ideally placed to co-ordinate palliative care in primary settings. Read the full LSE report at tinyurl.com/LSEpalliative
Jobs fair travels to Glasgow More than 1,000 nurses and students seeking new employment or to develop their careers attended the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair in Glasgow last week. The 56 employers on show included healthcare providers, recruitment agencies, the armed forces, charities and organisations from the private sector. Seminar sessions offered expert guidance, including CV writing and interview skills. Future RCN Bulletin Jobs Fairs are in Birmingham, July 2/3; London, September 10/11; and Manchester, November 5/6.
NURSING aprilNo 15other :: voluses 29 without no 33 ::permission. 2015 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal use only. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
