A good death
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Healthwatch Cornwall report on a conference they held to disseminate good practice and provide an opportunity for professionals to meet to comment on what is required for Cornwall to achieve excellence in this area. This followed their January 2015 report on end of life care. The conference was held on 29 January 2016.
Patients want:
- To be heard/listened to
- To have family and friends present at the end
- To be pain free and have symptoms managed
- To have co-ordinated, streamlined care
- To be treated as an individual and with dignity
- To feel safe and to do their normal activity as long as possible
- To have and be involved in a single care plan
What needs addressing in current system or is missing?
- 24/7 access to electronic care plans by all parties involved in care and including the patient
- 24 hour community nursing
- Multi agency working, meetings and planning around patients, where there is mutual respect for all parties
- Better communication between clinicians/patients/family/carers
- Co-ordinated working - Communal documentation
- Single point of access, 24/7, for advice on clinical matters or available services (including voluntary and community sector) that all parties can access
- Early conversations about end of life wishes, which could include public health awareness raising on end of life planning
- Equitable access to provision across the county and consideration of rurality and transport
- Flexible access to Community, Hospice and Hospital Palliative Care Team/Macmillan Out of Hours death registration
- Specialist Care at Home capacity
- A change to commissioning arrangements so commissioning is for pathways not services
- Development of a Charter, after due consultation with staff, patients and public, that all sign up to.