End of Life Study Event
Northern Region, BACCN, 28th of November 2008
In 2008 the Department of Health launched the End of Life Care Strategy. This document suggested that end of life care needs to be improved and that how we care for the dying is a measure of society as a whole. Caring for individuals approaching the end of life is very challenging for health care professionals and this is very true in the critical care setting. Traditionally intensive care units concentrated on curative measures and reversing life threatening illness. Unfortunately this is not always possible and difficult decisions will need to be made about withdrawal of treatment. Discussions with patients regarding their wishes about dying are difficult to initiate because of their clinical condition and prior wishes are often not known or discussed because of the suddenness of their admission to the critical care unit. This presents many dilemmas for the critical care nurse. They often find it difficult to understand how decisions are made and particularly the timing of decisions with seemingly futile interventions being prolonged.
The Northern Region BACCN recently hosted an End of Life study event to explore some of the issues mentioned above. We arranged an exciting, multi-disciplinary programme which included a consultant in anaesthetic/intensive care medicine who gave a very enlightening presentation regarding medical decision making in relation to the withdrawal of treatment. The principles of palliative care were discussed, as was the Liverpool Care Pathway by experts in that field. An eminent solicitor discussed the legal aspects of withdrawing treatment whilst a palliative care pharmacist discussed the use of medication at the end of life.
We enjoyed a very successful afternoon with 34 delegates in attendance. The event evaluated very well, especially the multi-disciplinary programme. This was a very useful study event on a very emotive subject and other regions may wish to organise something similar.
Vanessa Gibson
Secretary Northern Region BACCN
30 March, 2009
