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Help is just a phone call away: After-hours support for palliative care patients wishing to die at home

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 05:37 authored by Baird-Bower, D, Roach, J, Andrews, M, Onslow, F, Curnin, E
The 24-hour support for palliative patients is the gold standard of health care in Australia. However, in the state of Tasmania after-hours telephone support was spatially fragmented and inequitable. In 2014, hospice@HOME, a pilot programme introduced in Tasmania in that year, implemented a state-wide after-hours palliative care support service—1800HOSPICE—offering 24-hour support, 7 days a week for palliative patients, caregivers and the public. Six months of after-hours call logs in combination with additional patient data, were analysed to evaluate the use and wider implications of a state-wide after-hours palliative care support number. Family and caregivers mainly used the after-hours support to request changes to support services (25.1%), report changes in patients' overall condition (23.6%) and request acute medical assistance (16.2%). Through the use of the after-hours services by all individuals involved in the care, end-of-life patients were able to reduce ambulance contact and emergency department admission, and thereby increase their likelihood of dying at home (for patients whose preference was to die at home). Overall, 24-hour palliative care telephone support was found to be a valuable tool for all individuals involved in the care of end-of-life patients.

History

Publication title

International Journal of Palliative Nursing

Volume

22

Issue

6

Pagination

286-291

ISSN

1357-6321

Department/School

Tasmanian School of Medicine

Publisher

Mark Allen Group

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

Copyright 2016 MA Healthcare Ltd.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Palliative care

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