1. Out-of-hours community palliative care: a national survey of hospice providers.
- Author
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Fee, Anne, Hasson, Felicity, Slater, Paul, Payne, Sheila, McConnell, Tracey, Finlay, Dori-Anne, and McIlfatrick, Sonja
- Subjects
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HOSPICE care , *HEALTH services accessibility , *HOME care services , *CROSS-sectional method , *COMMUNITY health services , *MEDICAL care , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *CRITICAL care medicine , *DATA analysis software , *THEMATIC analysis , *PALLIATIVE treatment , *TELEMEDICINE , *EMERGENCY medicine - Abstract
Background: Community-based palliative out-of-hours services operate outside normal working hours. However, little is known about the provision and delivery of such care. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe types of provision and delivery of out-of-hours palliative care services provided by UK hospices. Methods: Survey questionnaires were emailed to 150 adult hospices in the UK. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and qualitative data subjected to thematic analysis. Findings: Responding hospices (n=57) provided the following types of support: telephone advice 72% (n=41); care at home 70% (n=40); and rapid response 35% (n=20). There were variations between services regarding referral mechanisms, availability and workforce, and integration with statutory services was limited. Conclusion: Variation in the type of provision and delivery of out-of-hours palliative care services alongside limited integration with statutory care have contributed to inequity of access to community-based palliative care, and potentially suboptimal patient and informal caregiver outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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