Health Care Professionals

 

Guidelines for GP's to refer too:

Generalist Palliative Care Guidelines (March 2014) -please click here for the full document.

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Palliative Care Handbook

Also available for GP's to refer too, is the Palliative Care Handbook  

Do not hesitate to contact the Hospice Taranaki team at anytime on 06 753 7830

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Last Days of Life

Welcome to the Last Days of Life Care Plan. This document is a comprehensive multi-professional tool that guides and enables healthcare professionals to focus on quality care in the last hours or days of life for the dying person, carer, family/whanau, friends and staff members.

The aim of this document is to:

• Improve the knowledge related to the process of dying.
• Improve the quality of care for the dying person in the last hours or days of life.
• Support health care professionals - however does not replace good clinical judgement.
• Facilitate multi - professional communication.
• Provide guidance for anticipatory prescribing.
• Provide guidance in discontinuation of inappropriate interventions.
• Support measureable improvements in the quality of care for the person in the last hours or days of life.
• Improve the documentation of communication and care provided.

The main sections are:

• Initial assessments
• Ongoing assessments
• Care after death

Key domains of care include:

• Physical
• Psychological
• Social
• Spiritual/cultural

Supporting documentation:

The Health Care Professional Information Sheet aims to support but not replace clinical judgment, and there are links to the 'Principles and Guidance for the Last Days of life': Te Ara Whakapiri - The Path of Closeness and Unity which is the guiding document released by the Palliative Care Council of New Zealand (2015) to assist health care professionals in establishing best practise for end of life care

• Health Care Professional Information Sheet
• Decision making in diagnosing dying
• Principles and Guidance for the Last Days of Life - Te Ara Whakapiri (no link here but this is available under the Ministry of Health website)

Patient / Carer pamphlets:

These pamphlets are designed to be given to patients and those caring for the dying person at end of life.

• What to expect when someone is dying
• Food and fluids at end of life
• Planning for a funeral
• Counselling and bereavement
• Loss and grief

Algorithms:

These algorithms are to help guide medical practitioners in prescribing of anticipatory medications at end of life

• Pain
• Terminal Restlessness & Agitation
• Respiratory Tract Secretions
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Dyspnoea
• Pain: in patients with impaired renal function GFR <30
• Delirium

Palliative Care Handbook

The most up-to-date edition of the Palliative Care Handbook is revised from 2016. The Handbook is useful in any place where palliative care happens. The purpose of the handbook is to provide an easy to use resource.

Information available in the handbook includes:

• Symptom management
• Palliative care emergencies
• Psychosocial/spirituality
• Syringe driver - medication compatibility table pg 152

To view Palliative Care Handbook online link.

For further information on accessing and implementing the Care Plan for the Last Days of Life document please contact:

Letiesha Sue: Last Days of Life Facilitator, Hospice Taranaki  email: letiesha.sue@hospicetaranaki.org.nz