Care for people Dying in Hospitals Programme

The purpose of the programme is to build on the work of the award winning Care for People Dying in Hospitals Project which was initiated by the Irish Hospice Foundation in partnership with the Health Service Executive at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Ireland. The experience gained in pioneering a process of change at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (The Newgrange Process) has enabled the Irish Hospice Foundation win support for the planning of a national programme. The objective is to ensure that, in so far as is possible, people dying in hospitals experience a good and dignified death, that their families are cared for and that the staff have the awareness and skills to make this happen and are themselves able to receive support and guidance.

Developing a ‘hospice friendly hospital’ presents particular challenges because death is sometimes unanticipated and even when anticipated it can still challenge hospital staff. As well as addressing the needs of patients and families the needs of a wide range of medical, nursing and support staff must also be addressed. Hospital staff, whose primary focus is on curing people, have understandable difficulties in dealing with the emotional intensity associated with the period around the death of a person and the concerns and distress felt by relatives. Issues such as the communication of bad news, predicting survival periods, supporting colleagues after the death of a patient and the need for facilities that enhance dignity and privacy are not easily addressed within acute hospitals. Dying in hospital can involve a complex mix of tangible and intangible issues and present challenges of a profound as well as a practical nature.

The Care for People Dying in Hospitals Project

The Care for People Dying in Hospitals Project had two principle aims:

• to pioneer a process for transforming all aspects of care and organisational culture in an acute hospital in respect of dying, death and bereavement
• to facilitate the adoption of these changes in other hospitals nationally, and perhaps internationally

The project placed great importance on involving people with widely differing perspectives and in reaching out to the wider hospital using and general public. Through the development of a wide range of work groups involving all areas of hospital responsibility, as well as patient, family and community/public interests, good practices were identified and shortcomings were addressed.

From Eugene Murray