Hospital-based palliative care teams : the hospital-hospice interface

Rev. ed. of: Terminal care support teams. 1990.

The need for palliative care teams ; How the care of the dying became neglected ; The modern hospice movement ; Terminal illness & hospitals ; Why do patients die in hospital? ; The needs of patients ; The needs of relatives ; The needs of professional carers ; Translating needs into team objectives ; Setting out to meet the need ; The palliative care unit ; Hospital-based palliative care teams ; Evaluation of existing teams ; Some guidelines for planning a palliative care team ; Selecting team members ; Clinical nurse specialists ; Doctors ; Secretary ; Psychologist ; Social worker ; Chaplain ; Volunteers ; Recruiting team members ; Achieving change without power ; Managing without power in the business world ; Systems thinking ; Personal mastery ; Understanding the process of influence ; The principles of influence ; Tactics for influencing change ; How to become more influential in the advisory role ; Summary ; The ethical basis for making decisions ; Basic ethical principles ; Gathering information from the patient ; Presenting options to the patient ; Balancing patient wishes with family & staff ; Ethical dilemmas in palliative care ; Euthanasia ; Summary ; Team dynamics ; Team goals ; Patient referrals to the team ; How palliative care teams relate to patients & families ; The stress of working with patients & families ; Communicating advice to the primary team ; What to do if advice is declined ; Other stresses on a palliative care team ; Relating together as a team ; Leadership ; Fulfilling the educational needs of team members ; Supporting the professional carers ; teaching & education ; Support ; Multidisciplinary stressors & support ; The pain clinic ; Available techniques ; Palliative oncology ; Radiotherapy ; Hormone & chemotherapy ; Working with oncology services

Looks at the need for hospital-based palliative care teams & the challenges of bringing palliative care into the acute hospital setting. Reviews the needs of patients, their families & their professional carers, & also looks at the theoretical & practical problems which may be encountered.