Comment: Addressing social difference: what is the role of palliative care?
Philip Larkin
pp 109-109
Looking broadly at the European context, it is evident that palliative care has become increasingly important in respective national health policies. Greater emphasis has been given to the fact that people are getting older, living longer with chronic disease and infirmity, and seeking more responsive healthcare services.
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Providing palliative care in advanced respiratory disease – the experience of one hospice
Sharon Chadwick and Sarah Russell
pp 110-114
The need for palliative care to reach out to patients suffering from diseases other than cancer is well established. It is widely recognised that those suffering from end-stage respiratory disease have a symptom burden as severe as those suffering from cancer, but their prognosis has been found to be much less predictable.
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The assessment and management of constipation in cancer and palliative care
Joanne Droney and Jane Cowap
pp 115-119
In recent years there has been a plethora of publications on constipation, mainly relating to opioid receptor antagonists for opioid-induced constipation. In clinical reality, however, it appears that little has changed in terms of the day-to-day practice of constipation management.
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Case study masterclass 62: Safeguarding a vulnerable patient and his wife
Rosalind Jarvis and Sally List
pp 120-121
Michael* is a 75-year-old retired plumber with metastatic prostate cancer. He was diagnosed three years ago, and was managed with androgen blockade; the cancer has now metastasised to his bones. In the past, he had a stroke, but functioned well. Recently, Michael has become weaker and started to lose his balance. He has fallen multiple times at home, and has developed urinary retention, for which he was catheterised by the on call district nurse.
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Case study masterclass 61 answers: A colon cancer patient requiring artificial nutrition
Nicholas Herodotou
pp 122-122
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Notes from an end-of-life care commissioning conference
Joel Barrick
pp 123-123
Professor Mayur Lakhami opened End of Life Care Commissioning – Commissioning High Quality End of Life Care in the new Commissioning Landscape with a review of UK palliative care (PC) statistics.With an aging population and a move toward greater non-cancer PC provision, it will become necessary to procure more PC services. It is essential to start this process now to be prepared when these needs arise.
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OPCARE9 work package 5 – the role of volunteers
Ruthmarijke Smeding and Stephen Mason
pp 124-126
Volunteering has been instrumental to the successful development of the hospice movement and the evolution of modern day palliative care. Within the founding principles of St Christopher’s Hospice, evidence attests to the structured input of at least two kinds of volunteers: professional volunteers who use their knowledge, skills and expertise (executive roles, financial management, clinical roles and so on), and community–based volunteers who provide support for day-to-day activities (such as driving to appointments, working in the garden and household support).
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OPCARE9 – How to develop junior researchers in palliative care projects
Franzisca Domeisen Benedetti, Natasja JH Raijmakers, Colin Bragg, Maren Galushko, Margarita Jorge, Carina Lundh Hagelin, Ovidiu Popa Velea, Vanessa Romotzky, Stefanie Schuler, Stephen Mason and Olav Lindqvist
pp 127-130
In this article, we present our experiences working as scientific project assistants (SPAs) within OPCARE9, a three-year project to optimise research and clinical care for cancer patients in the last days of life, funded by European Union Framework Programme 7, and divided into several work packages. As SPAs, our function was to provide support for the work package leads in executing the tasks required within each primary work package, including systematic reviews and Delphi surveys.
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Schooling of children with a life-limiting or life-threatening illness
Finella Craig, Clement Boden and Julia Samuel
pp 131-135
Schooling should not be valued purely for the purpose of education. It is a catalyst for social, emotional and spiritual growth that enables young people to develop a sense of their role and value in society. For a child or young person (CYP) with a life-limiting or life-threatening illness (LLLTI), maintaining school attendance can be crucial to their overall well-being, especially when survival to adulthood is unlikely.
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Collaborating with users: involving hard-toreach groups in research – part two
Susi Lund and Pam Denicolo
pp 136-140
In issue 19.2 of the European Journal of Palliative Care, we presented the background and design of a study in East Berkshire, UK, to draw out and learn from the experiences of Asian women carers, including those caring for a relative with a life-limiting illness. Here, we present the findings and discussion of this study.
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A day in the life of … Jo Hockley, Nurse Consultant
Jo Hockley
pp 141-142
I was appointed as nurse consultant to set up the Care Home Project Team at St Christopher’s Hospice in September 2008, when St Christopher’s became the first regional centre for the Gold Standards Framework in Care Homes (GSFCH).
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Reaching out – a consultant palliative medicine clinic within a Luton mosque
Nicholas Herodotou and Nasreen Ali
pp 143-145
The provision of cancer and palliative care services is an increasingly important part of delivering services to ethnic minority groups, as rates of cancer morbidity and mortality begin to parallel those of the majority population.
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Pioneering private palliative care in Portugal
Alison Blair
pp 146-148
Before we relocate to a foreign country, most of us will carry out a few checks – not least of which will be with regard to general healthcare provision in our intended destination – but far fewer of us will check out the palliative care provision. Confident that Portuguese National Health Service hospitals would be adequately equipped to care for me were I to become ill or need emergency treatment, I made the move to the Algarve.
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European insight: NCPC: making sure dying matters to everyone in society
Alice Fuller
pp 150-152
Writing in the third annual report of the national End of Life Care Strategy for England in September 2011, the national clinical director Professor Sir Mike Richards concluded that ‘while there is still a long way to go before we can offer all adults their choices and high quality end of life care, the patches of good practice are growing and spreading’.
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