Palliative care in emergency departments: an impossible challenge?

The aim of this study was to investigate the care practices surrounding end-of-life patients and the scope for providing palliative care in two emergency department short-stay units. Two qualitative methods of investigation were used: direct ethnographic-type observation and semi-directed group interviews. The results highlight the fact that end-of-life situations inflect the practices of care and give rise to adjustments in the organization of work. These practices operate in two registers: that of supporting the family and that of attention to the patient's comfort. We propose a typology of end-of-life patients. In conclusion, the practices, termed 'palliative care' by the caregivers, are addressed to terminally ill patients expected to die shortly. This issue should be debated within emergency departments.