Bowel Cancer Framework for Scotland

BOWEL CANCER FRAMEWORK FOR SCOTLAND

05. PALLIATIVE CARE

It is recognised that palliative care is an integral part of all clinical practice that takes as its starting point the quality rather than the quantity of life remaining. Palliative care needs can arise at any stage of a patient's care, and embrace psychosocial, emotional and spiritual issues surrounding life-threatening illness as well as the management of pain and other distressing symptoms.

Everyone, patients and carers, should be aware of services from which they might benefit. Clinicians across the spectrum of patient care should be alert to the needs of patients (and their carers) for appropriate support over and above immediate clinically required treatment.

The report on the NHS QIS (CSBS) assessment of bowel cancer services was published in 2002. This clearly sets out the NHSScotland performance against core palliative care standards generic to all cancer services.

Here again, significant improvements have been made over the last three years. In addition NHS QIS has recently published its report on the assessment of specialist palliative care services in Scotland (January 2004). This has demonstrated the commitment, dedication and hard work of the staff involved in providing specialist palliative care services. It also clearly demonstrated that these services seek, wherever, possible, to be responsive to patient needs and that a number of innovative service developments were evident. The importance was emphasised of taking into account needs for specialist palliative care when planning services.

A "mapping exercise" of palliative care provision is currently being undertaken by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care.

PALLIATIVE CARE

Basic Elements

• Good communication between palliative care and hospital service

• High quality hospice care

• Good home support