How well do we currently care for our dying patients in acute hospitals: the views of the bereaved relatives?

BACKGROUND

The National Care of the Dying Audit-Hospitals (NCDAH) is used as a method to evaluate care for dying patients in England. An additional component to the 2013/2014 audit was the Local Survey of Bereaved Relatives Views using the 'Care Of the Dying Evaluation' (CODE) questionnaire.

AIM

Within the context of the NCDAH audit, to evaluate quality of care provided to dying patients and their families in acute hospitals from the perspective of bereaved relatives.

DESIGN

Postbereavement survey to bereaved relatives.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: For acute hospitals wishing to participate, consecutive 'expected' adult deaths occurring between 1 May and 30 June 2013 were identified and the CODE questionnaire was sent to the next-of-kin.

RESULTS

From 3414 eligible next-of-kin, 95 (2.8%) were excluded due to being involved in a complaint procedure and 1006 (29.5%) due to insufficient next-of-kin details. From the remaining 2313 potential participants, 858 returned a completed CODE questionnaire (37.1% response rate). Generally, symptoms were perceived to be well controlled with 769 (91%) participants reporting that either no pain was present or only there 'some of the time'. Unmet information needs, however, was a recognised area for improvement, for example, 230 (29%) reporting having a discussion about hydration would have been beneficial.

CONCLUSIONS

Adopting a postbereavement survey to NCDAH appears to be feasible, acceptable and a valuable addition. On the whole, the majority of participants reported good or excellent care. A small but significant minority, however, perceived poor quality of patient care with clear and timely communication urgently needed.