An end-of-life care nurse service for people with COPD and heart failure: stakeholders' experiences.

BACKGROUND

End-of-life care (EOLC) has historically been associated with cancer care. However, demographic changes indicate that future provision must also cater for other long term conditions (LTC). An EOLC-LTC service, delivered by palliative care nurses, is currently being piloted in one area in the East Midlands with patients with cardiac and respiratory disease. In order to inform future commissioning, it is important to gain the views and experiences of those involved with the service.

AIMS

This study aimed to explore patients, and their partners, views and experiences of the EOLC-LTC service.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were used as part of a case study design, involving six cases. Each case consisted of the patient, their nominated family member/carer and key healthcare professionals involved in their care as identified by the patient. This paper reports on the findings from the interviews conducted with the six patients and their family member/carers. Data were analysed thematically.

RESULTS

From the interviews, the following themes were identified: experiences managing a long term cardio-respiratory condition, the nurse service, building a close/therapeutic relationship and fragmentation and integration.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has shown that the EOLC-LTC service is welcomed and highly regarded by patients and their family members/carers. Further studies are required to explore the views and experiences of other key stakeholders and to evaluate how well the pilot operates within the wider care pathway.