Dying in Australian hospitals: will a separate national clinical standard improve the delivery of quality care?

Dying in Australian hospitals: will a separate national clinical standard improve the delivery of quality care? Aust Health Rev. 2014 Dec 17; Authors: Clark K, Collier A, Currow DC Abstract While it is commonly stated that for most people the preferred place of death is their own homes, the actual reality is that most people will die in hospitals. This is both by choice and necessity. However, for many, the care that they receive would not necessarily align with their expectations. The need to improve the quality of health care at the end of life has been acknowledged by the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare with the release of a recent discussion paper. It is presumed this is a prelude to the release of another quality standard specifically for end of life care. The aim of this paper is to question whether such a standard is likely to result in the hoped for improvements in care. What is known about the topic? Numerous reports highlight that the care received by people dying predictably in hospital would not always be considered of sufficient quality to reliably and safely address their needs. As the numbers of people dying in Australian hospitals is likely to exponentially rise over the next decade there is a real need to address this care gap. What does this paper add? The need to address this care gaps has been highlighted by the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare. While this focus...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research