In this episode, doctors Lisa and Sara talk to palliative care consultant, Lesley Henson, and specialty doctor, Caitriona MacDermott, about common issues faced by primary care clinicians when dealing with end of life patients and their families.
Firstly they discuss hospice admission criteria and the role of a hospice. They then go on to speak about how to approach questions around palliative symptoms like breathlessness and reduced oral intake, after which they discuss how to assess options around hydration.
The final part of the discussion centres on questions involving prognosis and navigating the scenario where relatives or carers might view symptoms differently to other carers.
Listen to the podcast episode at https://pckb.org/e/palliative-care-common-questions-answered/
- Hospice UK: What is Hospice Care: https://www.hospiceuk.org/information-and-support/your-guide-hospice-and-end-life-care/im-looking-hospice-care/what-hospice
- Greater Manchester Palliative Care Symptom Control Guidelines for Adults (2019): https://www.england.nhs.uk/north-west/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2020/01/Palliative-Care-Pain-and-Symptom-Control-Guidelines.pdf
- Clinical Knowledge Summaries: Palliative Care General Issues: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/palliative-care-general-issues/
- Pain Assessment Tool for People with Dementia or Communication Difficulties from Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Hospitals (2015): https://www.dbth.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DBH-Pain-Tool.pdf
- MacMillan Resources: Managing Breathlessness, advice for Patients: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/breathlessness/managing-everyday-life-with-breathlessness?gad_source=1&gclid=cjwkcajwrckxbhbmeiwaivf8rhfcgjkvqpsq-is9gahloaxjoyq9tsfxwykwym08ewcsyoluupn-1xocq1sqavd_bwe&gclsrc=aw.ds
- Cancer Research UK Resource for Patients and relatives around Breathing Problems for Patients with Cancer: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/physically/breathing-problems
