Palliative care experiences wanted
A new scheme is encouraging families in Wales to speak frankly about their experiences of palliative care. Baroness Finlay explains why dying well matters
THE way we die lives on in the memory of those left behind. Every hour of every day somebody in Wales dies. Some are expected deaths but many deaths come as a terrible shock to families. And, let’s face it, we’re all pretty frightened of how we might die. Dying well matters, just as living well matters. That is why I am passionate about improving care of dying patients in Wales. There is so much that can be done that does not need a lot of money, but it does need NHS services to be aware of just what they are doing well and what is not happening well, so that everyone can learn from good practice and problems can be addressed.
For the first time ever, a whole nation is being asked to give feedback on services to shape the future. That is why we have launched Dying Well Matters. Anyone can write in – by post or e-mail or on the web – to tell us what was done well and what was not good, and where. A brief note is often plenty to give us an idea of what is happening. Health Minister Edwina Hart has invested in improving palliative care services across Wales and I’m glad to be leading on that work because I have always wanted end-of-life care to be the best in Wales.
I’ve spent the past 22 years working to try to achieve that. Now, with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government and particularly Mrs Hart, we can bring about real changes. By next March there will be seven-day working by specialist nurses across the whole of Wales and consultant advice available at all times. This means that advice can be sought on patient care by those providing frontline care. And money has been invested to ensure that there is a fair distribution of services across Wales.
All the hospices and the Macmillan and Marie Curie teams in Wales are already asking patients to provide feedback though the iWantGreatCare scheme. But now we need to know if things are really changing across the whole of NHS Wales, where the improvements are happening, and where more needs to be done. We want to know where our education programmes should be targeted. So we need to hear directly from people who have lost a close relative or friend about what went well and what went badly in their care.
This feedback will shape the way we push changes next year. Every day thousands of doctors and nurses go to work in Wales, all wanting to provide care for patients. But it does not always happen as it should – with feedback many people can think about what they do and see how they might do things differently. We want management to know where more support is needed and where processes block good care. We want to hear about the doctor or nurse who went the extra mile, who made all the difference.
They need to know what they do is helpful – they can teach by example too. We need to know. We need you to tell us. Yes, dying well matters. We called this Dying Well Matters because we want to hear all about the things – the matters – that are important and because a civilised society is reflected in the way it cares for those who are vulnerable. Good care should matter to us all.
Professor Ilora Finlay is a consultant at Velindre Hospital, Cardiff, and chairwoman of the palliative care implementation board in Wales
From WalesOnline. You can view the original article here.
