Comment: A step change for palliative care … but more evidence is needed
David Praill and Claire Morris
pp 161-161
As we write on the eve of an historic event – that is, the first WHO dedicated palliative care resolution1 being discussed at the 67th World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 2014 – we are delighted with the joint publication, by the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance and the WHO, of the first Global Atlas on Palliative Care at the End of Life.
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Wake up, sleep is important! Managing sleep disturbance in patients with advanced cancer
Gunnhild Jakobsen, Anne Kari Knudsen and Pål Klepstad
pp 162-165
Sleep disturbance is a relatively common, but often neglected, problem in advanced cancer. Gunnhild Jakobsen, Anne Kari Knudsen and Pål Klepstad explain how to screen for sleep disturbance in cancer patients and outline the available treatment options.
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Leadership of a palliative care team – a personal view
Matías Najún and Carlos Centeno
pp 166-169
What does the role of team leader in palliative care entail? What are the questions that arise for a palliative care team leader in daily practice? Matías Najún and Carlos Centeno reflect on the role and its inherent challenges.
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Case study masterclass 75: Making decisions regarding artificial hydration and nutrition in an older woman with advanced dementia
Michael Tapley and Ann Regan
pp 170-171
Vonnie is in her 70s and has a history of vascular dementia. She is from the West Indies but has lived most of her life in the UK. Six months ago, she had a cerebral vascular accident. Up until then, her dementia had followed a gradual pattern of deterioration.
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Case study masterclass 74 answers: Withdrawing non-invasive ventilation in a patient with motor neurone disease
Andrew Jenks
pp 172-172
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Developing a complex intervention to improve advance care planning for care home residents
Tamsin McGlinchey, Stephen Mason, Philip Saltmarsh, Maureen Gambles, Gerard Corcoran, Rebecca Bancroft and John E Ellershaw
pp 173-176
A project is under way in the North-West of England to improve planning for future care for residents living in care homes. Tamsin McGlinchey, Stephen Mason, Philip Saltmarsh, Maureen Gambles, Gerard Corcoran, Rebecca Bancroft and John E Ellershaw explain how this is being conducted using the Medical Research Council complex intervention guidance, process mapping and nominal group technique.
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A review of end-of-life care services in Cumbria using the NICE quality standards
Rachael Davies and Jayne Denney
pp 177-179
The Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust undertook a review of end-of-life services using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standards as a reference. Rachael Davies and Jayne Denney describe the method and outcomes.
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Book review: Radiation Oncology in Palliative Cancer Care
Won-Ho Edward Park
pp 179-179
Radiotherapy is an important tool in the management of cancer. While radical treatments are well protocoled and widely cited in books and guidelines, palliative radiotherapy is less well publicised. This book addresses this paucity, offering debate on the evidence base available and guidance on how to achieve good palliation.
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The Global Atlas of Palliative Care at the End of Life: an advocacy tool
Stephen R O'Connor
pp 180-183
Advocating palliative care without the basic facts about the global situation is difficult. The first Global Atlas of Palliative Care at the End of Life, jointly published by the WHO and Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance, provides some hard data. Stephen R Connor reports.
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Giving voice to life: training volunteer biographers at Mary Potter Hospice
Vivienne Pender
pp 184-187
The purpose of palliative care biography is to record the unique voice of the dying person, for the person themselves and also for their family and friends. Vivienne Pender explains how volunteer biographers are trained at Mary Potter Hospice in New Zealand.
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Is religion harmful or beneficial at the end of life?
Nimisha Panchmatia
pp 188-192
Nimisha Panchmatia has reviewed the literature in an attempt to understand the role and impact – whether positive or negative – of religion and spirituality for patients nearing the end of life.
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Book review: Palliative Medicine - A Case-based Manual, 3rd edition
Jane Lewington
pp 192-192
Now in its third edition, this comprehensive and clear book, which stands out among other palliative care textbooks due to its competency-based approach, has been updated throughout and several new chapters have been added.
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Introducing the EAPC Steering Group on Medical Education and Training
Frank Elsner, Stephen Mason, Heidi Blumhuber, Carlos Centeno, Gianluigi Cetto, Franco de Conno, John E Ellershaw, Steffen Eychmüller, Marilène Filbet and Philip Larkin
pp 193-195
Frank Elsner, Stephen Mason, Heidi Blumhuber, Carlos Centeno, Gianluigi Cetto, Franco de Conno, John E Ellershaw, Steffen Eychmüller, Marilène Filbet and Philip Larkin present the activities of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) in the area of medical education and training, including a number of task forces and projects.
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The Hospice Casa Sperantei holiday club: play, arts and music therapy for paediatric patients in Romania
Gina Vlasceanu
pp 196-200
Every summer since 2011, between 30 and 45 children attend a five-day holiday club organised by Hospice Casa Sperantei in Romania. Gina Vlasceanu explains how the activities help them cope with the difficulties of life-limiting or life-threatening disease.
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Letter to the Editor
David Fearon and Abdallahi Ould Bouhabib
pp 201-201
Sub-Saharan Africa is often the main focus of palliative care research in Africa. It was therefore greatly encouraging to read the recent series of articles in the European Journal of Palliative Care, which covered the situation across the whole continent.
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Multidisciplinary palliative care workshops in China
Norbert Krumm, Liu Yizhao, Feng Yi and Frank Elsner
pp 202-203
In 2011, palliative care professionals from RWTH Aachen University Hospital in Germany initiated a collaboration with the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the Beijing University People’s Hospital in China. This includes educational and research activities, as Norbert Krumm, Liu Yizhao, Feng Yi and Frank Elsner report.
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EJPC Palliative Care Policy Development Award
pp 204-204
Dr Olga Usenko, a Russian palliative care advocate, was unveiled as the winner of the first EJPC Palliative Care Policy Development Award on 7 June 2014 at the 8th EAPC World Research Congress in Lleida. She is recognised for her relentless efforts to improve palliative care and access to pain relief in Russia.
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European insight: Lithuania has opened up to palliative care
Arvydas Šeškevicius
pp 205-207
Before the early 1990s, hardly anybody in Lithuania had heard about palliative care. Since the Baltic state became independent again in 1990, it has made rapid progress in recognising and developing palliative care, thanks in no small part to the Lithuanian Palliative Medicine Association.
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