Volume 16, Number 5
 

An end-of-life care initiative for people with dementia

Are the Gold Standards Framework and the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient relevant for people with advanced dementia nearing the end of life? Susan Ashton, Bob McClelland, Brenda Roe, Deborah Mazhindu and Robert Gandy report on their implementation in five care settings in the Greater Manchester area

Complexity – is it in the eye of the beholder?

In the UK, the distinction between palliative care and specialist palliative care is acknowledged to relate to complexity. Specialist palliative care is about complex symptom control, psychological problems, social factors, spiritual issues, end-of-life care and bereavement. Little is written about what makes a palliative care issue complex.

EAPC Research Network: the Junior Forum

Sophy Gretton, Joanne Droney, Ruth Branford, Guro Birgitte Stene, Anne Kari Knudsen and Stein Kaasa explain how the Junior Forum of the European Association for Palliative Care Research Network (EAPC RN) aims to encourage young researchers

How to evaluate the communication skills of palliative care professionals

In the first of a series of articles promoting research in palliative care, Christian Schulz, Julia Katerla, Mischa Möller, André Karger and Martin W Schnell recommend greater attention to monitoring the quality of communication with dying patients

HSPSCCNCP: foster palliative care and pain management in Greece

Since 1997, the Hellenic Society of Palliative and Symptomatic Care of Cancer and Non Cancer Patients (HSPSCCNCP) has actively promoted palliative care and pain management in Greece. Athina Vadalouca, Eriphyli Argyras and Ioanna Siafaka recount its successes and consider what still needs to be done

Palliative care and emergency medicine: how can they work together?

Up to 10% of all contacts with emergency services concern patients who need palliative care, yet often the healthcare professionals involved have no idea of how to deal with such patients. Christoph HR Wiese, Bernhard M Graf and Gerd-Gunnar Hanekop suggest ways to remedy this, ideally giving a central role to the palliative care team (PCT)

Palliative care is starting to counter the medical nemesis

The belief that doctors were God-like creatures and death was a failure had grave consequences for healthcare. Fortunately, say Michael Igoumenidis and Eleni Theodosopoulou, the rise of palliative care is starting to redress the balance

The case study masterclass: Case 45 answers. Helping a young woman to fight the psychological side-effects of cervical cancer treatment

Sara* is a 28-year-old woman who lives with her partner. Eighteen months ago, she underwent radical treatment, including chemoradiotherapy, for early-stage carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Six months ago, she started experiencing persistent abdominal and rectal pain and was admitted for an ileostomy to resolve her symptoms. This was performed nine days ago.

The case study masterclass: Case 46. Duodenal stenting in a 42-year-old man near the end of life

Raj* was a shopkeeper living with his wife and two teenage sons. He was an articulate, dignified, intelligent man, who was described in his medical notes as ‘lovely’ and ‘anxious’. In March 2009, at the age of 42 and after a long history of colorectal cancer, he had a stent inserted to palliate inoperable duodenal obstruction. He died a few weeks later after having been admitted with haematemesis.

The meaning of death and dying in Judaism

When caring for a patient at the end of life, it is vital to be aware of how their culture and faith shape their views. In the first of a series of articles by different authors looking at how various religions view death, Samuel Lebens talks about Judaism’s negative attitude to death and considers how to help the terminally ill Jewish patient come to terms with it

Unilateral vocal cord paralysis in patients with lung cancer

Charlie Huins, Elizabeth Lobeck and Justin Roe highlight the potential consequences of unilateral vocal cord paralysis in patients diagnosed with lung cancer and discuss the management options available to palliative care practitioners

Using ultrasound in hospices

Doctors at Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes were trained to identify abdominal ascites using ultrasound, thus avoiding having to send patients to hospital for the procedure. Amy E H Kingston and John Moyle report on a small retrospective study to evaluate the change

What does it mean to be a hospice volunteer in Poland?

For her master’s thesis, Katarzyna Hess-Wiktor asked hospice volunteers to describe their experience of accompanying dying patients in Poland – a country where palliative care research is scarce. She gives an overview of the most important aspects of the role