Abstract
People requiring palliative care should have their needs met by services acting in accordance with their wishes. A hospice in the south of England provides such care via a 24/7 hospice at home service. This study aimed to establish how a nurse-led night service supported patients and family carers to remain at home and avoid hospital admissions. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with family carers (n=38) and hospice-at-home staff (n=9). Through night-time phone calls and visits, family carers felt supported by specialist hospice staff whereby only appropriate hospital admission was facilitated. Staff provided mediation between family carer and other services enabling more integrated care and support to remain at home. A hospice-at-home night service can prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and meet patient wishes through specialist care at home.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 30-36 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | British Journal of Community Nursing |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 28 Dec 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2 Jan 2021 |
Keywords
- Hospice at home
- Hospital admissions
- Night service
- Out-of-hours
- Palliative care
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Community and Home Care