Comment: Innovation is key to improve end-of-life care worldwide Julia Riley pp 5-5 I was privileged to have been invited to to the inaugural World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), which took place in Doha in Qatar on 10 and 11 December 2013. The purpose of the conference was to facilitate the building of long-term partnerships in order to deliver the very best of healthcare innovations to people around the world.
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Dementia at the end of life: what can hospices do? Ann Regan, Michael Tapley and David Jolley pp 6-10 Based on their experience of a new service offered by Willow Wood Hospice in Lancashire, UK, Ann Regan, Michael Tapley and David Jolley highlight the potential of hospices in helping people with dementia and their carers as the end of life approaches.
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Antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infection in hospices in Scotland Barbara C Wimmer, Linda Johnstone, Carolyn Mackay, Elayne Harris and Alexander B Mullen pp 11-18 General guidelines on the treatment of urinary tract infections are not always helpful in palliative care settings, argue Barbara C Wimmer, Linda Johnstone, Carolyn Mackay, Elayne Harris and Alexander B Mullen, who have looked at how such guidelines are adhered to in three Scottish hospices and propose alternative treatment charts.
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Case study masterclass 72: Difficulty predicting prognosis in heart failure Jemma Storrar pp 19-20 Anne is an 80-year-old woman with an extensive cardiac history who is admitted to hospital with decompensated heart failure. She is well known to the heart failure team. Two weeks ago, she was referred to the community palliative care team with increasing shortness of breath and she was due to be seen by the palliative medicine consultant at home. However, she had to be admitted to hospital before the appointment could take place.
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Case study masterclass 71 answers: Complicated home discharge of an obdurate smoker needing oxygen therapy Morwenna Hitchens pp 21-21
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Role models: Sheila Payne Sheila Payne pp 22-23 Welcome to our new series, in which we will profile European leaders in palliative care – people who help set the agenda and influence policy. Our first ‘role model’ is Sheila Payne, Director of the International Observatory on End of Life Care and President of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC).
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Death certification: changes in England and Wales Paul Perkins, Kathryn Griffin, Lynne Tarling, San Sumathipala and Bob Bell pp 24-26 In England and Wales, the processes around death certification are about to change. Paul Perkins, Kathryn Griffin, Lynne Tarling, San Sumathipala and Bob Bell take us through these changes in the law and explain what hospices need to do.
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Community initiatives foster health-promoting palliative care in Singapore Melissa MH Chan, Libby Sallnow and Scott A Murray pp 27-29 The population of Singapore is aging fast. How can health-promoting palliative care help the country face the challenges of growing palliative care needs? Melissa MH Chan, Libby Sallnow and Scott A Murray share the results of a scoping review.
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More palliative care involvement is needed for transplant patients Humaira Jamal, Anna Reed, Karen Collis, Lauren Berry and Jane Everitt pp 30-33 Transplant patients have large unmet needs for good quality end-of-life care, say Humaira Jamal, Anna Reed, Karen Collis, Lauren Berry and Jane Everitt, reporting from a major cardiothoracic surgical centre in the UK. Innovative models of care are needed.
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Book review: Palliative Aspects of Emergency Care Allie Klein pp 33-33 This book may be small in size but it has a huge potential impact. Its foreword states that it ‘provides you with a toolkit to meet the needs of your patients with life-limiting illness and injury’, and it certainly does.
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Collaborative, developmental and transdisciplinary practitioner supervision Julia Arnold pp 34-37 Julia Arnold has been developing collaborative, developmental and transdisciplinary (CDT) practitioner supervision for the last 12 years. Here, she gives an insight into what it is and how it works.
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Twenty-five years revisited: have we been faithful to our values and principles? René Schaerer pp 38-41 At the 13th Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) in May–June 2013 in Prague, the Floriani lecture was given by French palliative care pioneer and founding EAPC member René Schaerer. We present an abridged and edited version.
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infoPAL – electronic records for palliative care patients in the Madrid region María Teresa García-Baquero Merino, Belén Martínez Cruz, Fernando Pinedo Cañas, Manuela Monleón-Just and Diego Ruiz López pp 42-44 In Madrid, Spain, electronic patient records were put in place two years ago, notably to help secure continuity of care. María Teresa García-Baquero Merino, Belén Martínez Cruz, Fernando Pinedo Cañas, Manuela Monleón-Just and Diego Ruiz López explain.
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Palliative care research in western Africa Ikeoluwapo Ajayi, Oluwatomi Iken, Richard A Powell, Olaitan Soyannwo, Eve Namisango and Faith Mwangi-Powell pp 45-47 In the 16 countries of western Africa, there is a crying need for more research (as well as more service provision and integration), say Ikeoluwapo Ajayi, Oluwatomi Iken, Richard A Powell, Olaitan Soyannwo, Eve Namisango and Faith Mwangi-Powell in this penultimate article of our series on palliative care research in Africa
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European insight: In the UK, Marie Curie Cancer Care puts patients and families first Rhiannon Smith and Bill Noble pp 48-51 Given the choice, most of us would want to be cared for at home or in a hospice if we were seriously ill. Marie Curie is working to ensure that everyone will have the high-quality care and support they need at the end of their life in the place of their choice.
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