Evaluation of a night respite community palliative care service.

A three-phase project was undertaken to develop and evaluate a community night respite palliative care service for patients and family carers. An assessment tool to identify those most in need of night respite was developed and tested. The tool was reliable and feasible for use in practice. Care aides were trained to provide night respite. Fifty-three patients participated over 11 months. Findings revealed the types of patients and families most in need of night respite, the amount of respite needed, and location of death. There is evidence that patients who would have been transferred to an inpatient setting for end-of-life care were able to die at home with the support of the night respite service. Families were extremely appreciative of the service and a limited cost comparison suggested costs were lower than if patients had been transferred to hospital and/or inpatient hospice care. Recommendations for practice are offered.