End-of-life care in hospital: an audit of care against Australian national guidelines.

ConclusionThere is clear scope for improvement in end-of-life care provision. Health services need to mandate and operationalise Elements 1-5 of the ACSQHC's Essential Elements into care systems and processes, and ensure nationally consistent, high-quality end-of-life care.What is known about the topic?Acute care settings provide the majority of end-of-life care. Despite the ACSQHC's Ten Essential Elements, little is known about whether current end-of-life care practices align with recommendations.What does this paper add?There is room for improvement in providing patient-centred care, increasing family involvement and teamwork, describing and enacting goals of care and using triggers to prompt care. Differences between public and private hospitals may be the result of differences in standard practice or policy and differences in cultural diversity.What are the implications for practitioners?The Essential Elements need to be mandated and operationalised into mainstream care systems and processes as a way of ensuring safe and high-quality end-of-life care. PMID: 30830856 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research