Introduction of a care of the dying pathway into a hospice setting

Introduction
This poster describes the introduction of a Care of the Dying Pathway into St John of God Murdoch Community Hospice, which is a 20 bed palliative care inpatient facility in metropolitan Perth. More than 65% of patients are referred for end of life care which prompted us to consider introducing such a pathway. This project, commenced in January 2008, is supported by the West Australian Cancer and Palliative Care Network as a collaborative initiative to improve end of life care.

Background

• Care pathways have not previously been used at the hospice
• Concept/usage of care pathways amongst staff was variable, (previous experience! never heard of them)
• Staff attitudes to the care pathway was variable ("can't wait"-"more paperwork")
• Invited by the West Australian Cancer and Palliative Care Network to be a pilot site for the Care of the Dying Pathway

The Challenges

• To provide education to staff with varying knowledge, skills and learning requirements
• Encourage staff to embrace the concept of using the pathway
• Maintain ongoing motivation to use the pathway
• Develop staff to be able to critique the project objectively and offer suitable suggestions for improvement

Implementation

• Various education strategies were implemented to support the introduction of the pathway
• Ongoing support was given to staff to encourage compliance