In my area there is currently an initiative to improve end of life care. I am part of a patient group at my surgery and I would like to contribute to the discussion. The aspect of EOL care that particularly interests me is that provided to people with dementia in care homes. I suspect that the care that they get might not be as good as that provided in other settings for a number of reasons:
1. the PWD cannot advocate for him/herself
2. the PWD's relatives may live some distance away
3. neither the PWD nor his/her relatives have much of a relationship (or any) with the treating GP if, as is common, the PWD changed GP when s/he moved into the care home
When my mother was dying no doctor contacted me. I was informed that EOL medication had been prescribed, but it was never actually given. One carer told me that EOL medication had almost never been given at the home. No-one ever explained why it was not felt to be appropriate to give it, and I found the, for want of a better expression, dying process over six days very distressing. I was actually about to threaten the surgery with a complaint when my mother finally died.
I have wondered whether people living in homes with nurses onsite receive more EOL medication. My friend's mother died from vascular dementia and she was given two medications when she was dying; her home had onsite nurses.
I'd be interested to hear people's views on the above. I have read some of the threads in the EOL section of the forum and have never heard of the medications mentioned, or a syringe driver being used for someone who was not dying from cancer.
1. the PWD cannot advocate for him/herself
2. the PWD's relatives may live some distance away
3. neither the PWD nor his/her relatives have much of a relationship (or any) with the treating GP if, as is common, the PWD changed GP when s/he moved into the care home
When my mother was dying no doctor contacted me. I was informed that EOL medication had been prescribed, but it was never actually given. One carer told me that EOL medication had almost never been given at the home. No-one ever explained why it was not felt to be appropriate to give it, and I found the, for want of a better expression, dying process over six days very distressing. I was actually about to threaten the surgery with a complaint when my mother finally died.
I have wondered whether people living in homes with nurses onsite receive more EOL medication. My friend's mother died from vascular dementia and she was given two medications when she was dying; her home had onsite nurses.
I'd be interested to hear people's views on the above. I have read some of the threads in the EOL section of the forum and have never heard of the medications mentioned, or a syringe driver being used for someone who was not dying from cancer.