Quality Standards for End-of-Life Care in Hospitals

1 Introduction Quality Standards for End-of-Life care in Hospitals Making End-of-Life care central to hospital care Contents Contents Acknowledgements 6. The Four Standards 10. A Message from President McAleese 11. Introduction 12. Part 1: Cycle of Life & Death 17. The Lifecycle Approach 18. End-of-Life care in the Context of the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme 19. Patterns of Dying 20. Start of Life and Childhood 20. Adults 22. People with Disabilities 23. Part 2: About the Standards 25. Purpose of Standards 27.

2 Focus of Standards 28. The Link between Standards and Audit 29. 3. Contents Contents Part 3: The Standards 37. Standard 1: The Hospital 39. A Culture of Compassionate End-of-Life care 41. General Governance Policies and Guidelines 42. Effective Communication with Patients and their Families 43. The Healthcare Record 45. The Hospital Environment 46. Monitoring and Evaluating End-of-Life care 47. Assessing and Responding to End-of-Life care Needs of Patients 48. Clinical Responsibility and Multi-Disciplinary Working 50.

3 Pain and Symptom Management 51. Clinical Ethics Support 52. care after Death 53. Post Mortems 54. Bereavement care 55. Standard 2: The Staff 57. Cultivating a Culture of Compassionate End-of-Life care among Staff 59. Staff Induction 60. Staff Education and Development Needs 61. Staff Education and Training Programmes 62. Staff Support 63. Standard 3: The Patient 65. Communicating a Diagnosis of the Possibility of a Need for End-of-Life care 67. Clear and Accurate Information 68. Patient Preferences 69. Pain and Symptom Management 70.

4 Discharge Home / out of the Hospital 71. The Dying Patient 72. Standard 4: The Family 73. Communication with Family Members 75. Communication with Family Members - Where death may be anticipated 76. Communication with Family Members - Sudden/unexpected death or sudden irreversible decline in health leading to death 77. Patient Discharge 78. Supporting Family Members 79. Responding to the Needs of Family Members after a Death 80. 4. Contents Contents Glossary 81. Appendices 99. Appendix 1: Quality Standards for Babies and Children at End of Life 100.

5 Appendix 2: Supporting parents/families following the death of a child: 125. Appendix 3: Development Process for Standards for End-of-Life in Hospitals 126. Bibliography 129. 5. Acknowledgements Acknowledgements The development of these Standards has been co-ordinated by Helen Donovan supported by Michael Browne, Consultant Researcher, and builds on the earlier work of Daphne Doran, Standards Development Project Manager, until July 2008. These Standards have been developed with the collaboration, support and advice of many individuals, teams and interested parties, for which we are particularly grateful.

6 Unfortunately it is not possible to pay tribute individually to all who gave so generously of their time and expertise but the following individuals and groups have played an integral part in developing the Standards : Mary Bowen, Operations Manager, Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme Celine Deane, Social Work Manager, Beaumont Hospital Dr. Susan Delaney, Bereavement Services Manager, The Irish Hospice Foundation Nuala Harmey, Bereavement Co-ordinator, Children's University Hospital, Temple Street Gill Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Healthcare and Public Sector Management, The University of Manchester Sharon Hayden, Assistant Director of Nursing, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin Dr.

7 Mary Hynes, Cancer Network Manager West, National Cancer Control Programme Orla Keegan, Head of Education, Research and Bereavement Services, The Irish Hospice Foundation Erik Koornneef, Regional Manager, Healthcare Quality and Safety Directorate, Health Information and Quality Authority ine McCambridge, Administrator, Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme Dr. Kieran McKeown, Social & Economic Research Consultant Ron Smith Murphy, National Chairperson, Irish Stillbirth And Neonatal Death Society (ISANDS). Lorna Peelo-Kilroe, National Practice Development Coordinator, HSE & Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme Mervyn Taylor, Programme Manager, Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme Shelagh Twomey, Clinical Nurse Specialist Palliative care , Wexford General Hospital.

8 Programme Manager, Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme until April 2010. The Standing Committee on Dying, Death and Bereavement, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin 6. Acknowledgements Acknowledgements The Standards Workgroups Representatives from Hospitals involved in Standards development Ruth Buckley, Health Promotion Manager, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Ray Connolly, Head Porter, The Royal Hospital, Donnybrook Catherine Guihen, Nurse Practice Development Co-ordinator, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Ailish McCaffrey, Occupational Therapist, The Royal Hospital, Donnybrook Margaret McGrath, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Head & Neck Cancer.

9 Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Niamh Mulherne, Social Work Manager, Connolly Hospital, Collette Schmidt, Clinical Nurse Manager, Outpatients Department, Connolly Hospital Teresa Slevin, Clinical Nurse Manager 111, Haematology/Oncology, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin Alice Ward, Clinical Nurse Manager, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin Representatives of interested organisations, professional bodies and lay persons Bob Carroll, Lay representative Mary Clodagh Cooley, Education Project Manager, The Irish Hospice Foundation Dr.

10 Brian Creedon, Consultant in Palliative care Medicine, Waterford Regional Hospital Celine Dean, Social Work Manager, Beaumont Hospital Eilish Fitzpatrick, Caring for the Carers Moya Loughnane, Lay representative Barbara Lynch, Counselling Services Manager, Beaumont Hospital Breffni McGuiness, Training Manager, The Irish Hospice Foundation Ron Smith Murphy, National Chairperson, Irish Stillbirth And Neonatal Death Society Marie Lynch, Programme Development Manager, The Irish Hospice Foundation Sheila O'Conner, Co-ordinator, Patient Focus Ailis Quinlan, Public Health Mary Tynan, Partnership Facilitator, National Health Services Partnership Forum 7.