Abstract
Background: The last decade has seen the widespread development of care
pathways in many areas of healthcare provision across the UK. Approximately 56% of cancer patients die in hospital and in order to transfer the
hospice model of care for the dying patient into other settings, the Liverpool
Care of the Dying Pathway (LCP) was developed. This mulitprofessional
pathway provides an evidence based framework for the dying phase.
Providing guidance on the different aspects of care required including:
comfort measures, anticipatory prescribing of medication, and discontinuation of inappropriate interventions. Additionally psychological and spiritual
care and family support is included. However, little evidence exists to
illustrate the views of nurses regarding the impact of the LCP. The aim of
this study was to explore nurses’ perceptions of the impact of the LCP in the
acute hospital setting.
Methodology: A qualitative methodology using focus groups interviews was
adopted for the study to enable group discussion and interaction to take
place. A purposive sample of palliative care network nurses familiar with the
LCP were invited to participate in the study. 15 ward based nurses from
across the hospital participated in two audio taped focus groups. Data was
analysed for emerging themes using thematic analysis.
Results and Discussion: The results suggest that generally nurses have found
the LCP has a positive impact on patients including reducing inappropriate
routine care, enhanced symptom control, and improved communication for
relatives. Additionally they reported the positive impact on doctors and
nurses including increased confidence in their care of dying patients. A
potential negative factor concerning the barriers to its usage was also
highlighted. This paper discusses the results and explores potential reasons
for the findings.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2004 |
Event | Liverpool Care of the Dying Pathway Conference - London, United Kingdom Duration: 25 Dec 2004 → … |
Conference
Conference | Liverpool Care of the Dying Pathway Conference |
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Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
City | London |
Period | 25/12/04 → … |