Mayland, Catriona Rachel ORCID: 0000-0002-1440-9953, Mulholland, Helen ORCID: 0000-0002-6679-7257, Gambles, Maureen, Ellershaw, John ORCID: 0000-0001-9789-3180 and Stewart, Kevin
(2017)
How well do we currently care for our dying patients in acute hospitals: the views of the bereaved relatives?
BMJ SUPPORTIVE & PALLIATIVE CARE, 7 (3).
pp. 316-325.
Abstract
<h4>Background</h4>The National Care of the Dying Audit-Hospitals (NCDAH) is used as a method to evaluate care for dying patients in England. An additional component to the 2013/2014 audit was the Local Survey of Bereaved Relatives Views using the 'Care Of the Dying Evaluation' (CODE) questionnaire.<h4>Aim</h4>Within the context of the NCDAH audit, to evaluate quality of care provided to dying patients and their families in acute hospitals from the perspective of bereaved relatives.<h4>Design</h4>Postbereavement survey to bereaved relatives.<h4>Setting/participants</h4>For acute hospitals wishing to participate, consecutive 'expected' adult deaths occurring between 1 May and 30 June 2013 were identified and the CODE questionnaire was sent to the next-of-kin.<h4>Results</h4>From 3414 eligible next-of-kin, 95 (2.8%) were excluded due to being involved in a complaint procedure and 1006 (29.5%) due to insufficient next-of-kin details. From the remaining 2313 potential participants, 858 returned a completed CODE questionnaire (37.1% response rate). Generally, symptoms were perceived to be well controlled with 769 (91%) participants reporting that either no pain was present or only there 'some of the time'. Unmet information needs, however, was a recognised area for improvement, for example, 230 (29%) reporting having a discussion about hydration would have been beneficial.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Adopting a postbereavement survey to NCDAH appears to be feasible, acceptable and a valuable addition. On the whole, the majority of participants reported good or excellent care. A small but significant minority, however, perceived poor quality of patient care with clear and timely communication urgently needed.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Humans, Palliative Care, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Middle Aged, Caregivers, Terminally Ill, State Medicine, Patient Satisfaction, Quality Assurance, Health Care, England, Female, Male, Young Adult, Surveys and Questionnaires |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
Date Deposited: | 02 Mar 2017 07:48 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jan 2023 07:14 |
DOI: | 10.1136/bmjspcare-2014-000810 |
Open Access URL: | http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2017/01/17/bmj... |
Related URLs: | |
URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3006140 |