Hospice transfer for patients at the end of life: part 1
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Hospice transfer for patients at the end of life: part 1

Michael Philip Tapley Medical director, Willow Wood Hospice, Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire
Loren Pilling Staff nurse, Willow Wood Hospice, Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire
David Jolley Honorary consultant psychiatrist, Willow Wood Hospice, University of Manchester
Ann Marie Daniels Sister and ward manager, The Royal Liverpool Teaching Hospital, Liverpool
Bashir El-Mahmoudi Consultant physician, Tameside General Hospital, Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire

This is the first of two articles about improving end of life care for terminally ill patients in a district general hospital. The article describes a hospice transfer service developed by joint working between staff at a medical assessment unit and a hospice to improve end of life care for patients who otherwise might die in the medical assessment unit. It discusses the care received by patients in both settings, and the practicalities of offering patients the option of rapid transfer to the hospice for end of life care, where the emphasis of care is on palliation not acute intervention. The second article explores the ethical, legal and practical considerations involved in developing the service.

Nursing Standard. 28, 8, 42-48. doi: 10.7748/ns2013.10.28.8.42.e7756

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Received: 03 April 2013

Accepted: 15 August 2013

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