End of Life Care Pathways
End of Life Care Pathways for Residential Aged Care Facilities
Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to develop, implement and evaluate an End of Life Care Pathway specifically for use in residential aged care facilities (RACF).
The effectiveness of the Residential Aged Care End of Life Care Pathway (RAC EoLCP) was evaluated against best practice standards as determined by Palliative Care Australia. This comprehensive evaluation (across 299 deaths) has provided some of the first evidence internationally that the use of palliative care pathways improves resident outcomes of care.
One of the most important findings was that dying residents commenced on the RAC EoLCP were significantly less likely to be transferred to hospital, so more able to die in-place in the familiar environment of their RACF with carers who were known to them.
The recommendation from this research is that the RAC EoLCP be made available to as many RACFs as practicable.
Pathway for viewing or download
For further information about this project, contact bspcc@health.qld.gov.au
Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) Project
The Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education collaborated on an end of life pathway project with Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital's Dr Carol Douglas. Dr Douglas, Director of Palliative Care, obtained funding to introduce an end of life care pathway based on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP). For further information about the RBWH project contact Dr Carol Douglas - contact details on the palliative care service webpage below.
The RBWH Palliative Care Service webpage has links to the Care of the Dying Clinical Pathway Form, pathway Medication Guidelines, and an educational DVD explaining the pathway. The page is on the RBWH intranet, therefore only accessible from within Queensland Health. For further information about the pathway or the RBWH Palliative Care Service, phone 07 3636 6138.
The Australian Best Care of the Dying (ABCD) Network Project
The ABCD Network Project, with Professor Janet Hardy as lead investigator, was funded by the National Institute of Clinical Studies from 1st January-30th June 2005. The ABCD network, a consortium of Queensland palliative care units, collaborated to further the use of end of life care pathways in Queensland.
The focus of the project was to improve the care of patients dying in hospitals and institutions throughout Australia through a care pathway programme. The concept of care pathways for the dying was developed by a specialist palliative care team in Liverpool (UK) and now forms part of standard management in over one hundred UK hospitals. The Liverpool Care Pathway allows the excellence of care achieved in the hospice environment to be extended to the acute hospital, community and aged care settings.
The primary contact person for the ABCD project is Professor Janet Hardy. Contact details are:
e-mail : janet_hardy@mater.org.au
ABCD References & Resources
ABCD Networks Links Page
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