Specialist palliative care out of hours telephone advice in Ireland: a national survey.

Objectives: In 2015 the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care identified access to specialist palliative care (SPC) advice out of hours (OOH) as their number one research priority. Receiving appropriate advice in response to palliative care needs OOH can address a patient/family's concerns and prevent unnecessary hospital attendances.The aim of this study was to describe the current model of SPC OOH advice in the units that run this service, and gain a greater understanding of the nature of calls received by these services.

Using a validated case mix tool for use in the telephone-assisted triage of patients in a specialist palliative care community setting: a consecutive case series.

Objectives: Allocating resources in palliative care is challenging due to the nature of life-limiting illness coupled with the propensity for significant physical symptoms and psychological distress. At present, there is no established system for triaging referrals and prioritising resource allocation.This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using a case mix assessment tool for telephone-assisted triaging of referrals to a specialist palliative care service.

Palliative care services for children with life-limiting conditions.

Background: Palliative care (PC) for children with life-limiting conditions (LLC) is a holistic approach to achieve the best quality of life.

Aims: Highlighting collaboration between pediatric and PC services is essential in providing seamless care.

Methods: Retrospective data obtained including patient cohort, disease profile, place of death, and the resource requirements for children with a LLC in the Mid-West region of Ireland over a 7-year period.

The association between phase of illness and resource utilisation-a potential model for demonstrating clinical efficiency?

Healthcare efficiency involves demonstrating flexible inter-relationships between resource utilisation and patient need. In palliative care, five phases of patient illness have been identified: stable, unstable, deteriorating, terminal and bereaved. Evaluating the association between phase of illness and nursing activities could demonstrate clinical efficiency.

Identifying the gaps in Irish cancer care: Patient, public and providers' perspectives.

Background: The University of Limerick Cancer network (ULCaN) was established in 2019 with funding from the Health Research Institute at the University of Limerick in order to build a network between individuals in academia, primary and secondary care and the general public so that cancer services can be coordinated and more effective. The aim of this paper is to outline our experience of engaging with stakeholders to identify gaps in the cancer journey locally.

Methods: Four focus group discussions were conducted with patients; their carers; members of the public; and healthcare providers with 2 main aims: 1) to investigate gaps in cancer services; 2) to identify knowledge, attitudes and opportunities available to promote cancer research.

Red cell transfusion benefits in oncology, haematology and palliative medicine populations: a narrative review.

Due to the heterogenous nature of the palliative medicine patient population, assessment of benefit, and thus choice of appropriate patient for consideration of transfusion, can be challenging. This can be confounded by the use of both liberal and restrictive transfusion thresholds. The multifactorial nature of many symptoms of anaemia, particularly in patients with advanced malignancy, can further complicate.

Bespoke 3D printed eye cover for teen with rhabdomyosarcoma.

Background: We report a case of using 3D printing to create a bespoke eye cover for an 18-year-old man with left maxillary alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Further, the patient had proptosis causing chemosis and subsequent conjunctival abrasions. This had been managed by taping a large dressing around the eye for a number of weeks previously.

Is Inpatient Hospice Care Clinically Effective? Using Phase of Illness to Evaluate Care Outcomes for Patients Admitted to a Specialist Palliative Care Unit in Ireland.

In health care, clinical effectiveness involves evaluating the degree to which clinical interventions achieve beneficial patient and caregiver outcomes. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of care in a specialist palliative care unit (SPCU) in Ireland, including an analysis of the temporal relationship among admission, Phase of Illness and patient and family distress. A consecutive case series with prospectively collected admission data ( = 400).

The Impact of a Novel Tool for Comprehensive Assessment of Palliative Care (MPCAT) on Assessment Outcome at 6- and 12-Month Follow-Up.

Context: Assessment in palliative care settings should be focused, sensitive, specific, and effective to minimize discomfort to vulnerable and often highly morbid patients. This report describes the development of an admission assessment protocol for a Specialist Palliative Care Inpatient Unit and its implementation into clinical practice.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and investigate the impact of the implementation of a Specialist Palliative Care admission assessment tool on documentation of key patient needs.

INSPIRE (INvestigating Social and PractIcal suppoRts at the End of life): Pilot randomised trial of a community social and practical support intervention for adults with life-limiting illness.

Background: For most people, home is the preferred place of care and death. Despite the development of specialist palliative care and primary care models of community based service delivery, people who are dying, and their families/carers, can experience isolation, feel excluded from social circles and distanced from their communities. Loneliness and social isolation can have a detrimental impact on both health and quality of life.

WA40 The good neighbour partnership: why do we need it? who is going to do it? how on earth are we going to evaluate it?

: This one-hour symposium considers Milford Care Centre's Compassionate Communities Good Neighbour Partnership and it's evaluation by an international team, led by Maynooth University and funded by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care, The Irish Cancer Society, The Irish Hospice Foundation and Milford Care Centre. The symposium will be divided into three sections: 1. The Good Neighbour Partnership: Why do we need it? In this section we will describe the findings from a recent scoping study to determine the social and practical needs of community dwelling adults (and their families) living with advanced life limiting illness at home.

Implementing Outcome Measures Within an Enhanced Palliative Care Day Care Model.

Background: Specialist palliative care day care (SPDC) units provide an array of services to patients and their families and can increase continuity of care between inpatient and homecare settings. A multidisciplinary teamwork approach is emphasized, and different models of day care exist. Depending on the emphasis of care, the models can be social, medical, therapeutic, or mixed.

Methods of Rotation From Another Strong Opioid to Methadone for the Management of Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review of the Available Evidence.

Context: Up to 44% of patients with cancer-related pain require opioid rotation (OR) because of inadequate analgesia or side effects. No consensus exists regarding the most efficacious method for rotation to methadone.

Objectives: To define the available evidence regarding methods of rotation to methadone and to determine if sufficient evidence exists regarding the superiority of one method.

Rotating to oral methadone in advanced cancer patients: a case series.

Context: Methadone is increasingly being used to treat patients whose pain does not respond well to other opioids. Advantages over morphine sulphate and its alternatives include low cost, lack of active metabolites and efficacy against neuropathic pain.

Objectives: To describe our experience with opioid rotation to methadone and compare the morphine to methadone ratios to previously published data; To discuss two commonly used rotation methods--the Edmonton and Morley-Makin methods.

Why do palliative care patients present to the emergency department? Avoidable or unavoidable?

Introduction: Presentations by patients with advanced illness to the Emergency Department (ED) towards the end-of-life can be distressing for both patients and caregivers. With an understanding of why patients present, interventions to avoid these presentations close to the end-of-life may be possible.

Aims: To identify patients under the specialist palliative care service (SPCS) who attended the ED over 6 months and to determine if these presentations were potentially avoidable.

Prediction of patient survival by healthcare professionals in a specialist palliative care inpatient unit: a prospective study.

Accurate prognostication is an enormous challenge for professionals caring for patients with advanced disease. Few studies have compared the prognostic accuracy of different professional groups within a hospice setting. The aim of this study was to compare the ability of 5 professional groups to estimate the survival of patients admitted to a specialist palliative care unit.